


It all began like this

by Martarf24



Series: JaeDoWoo College AU [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Bullying, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, M/M, Multi, Self Confidence Issues, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2020-10-11 11:42:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 85,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20545580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Martarf24/pseuds/Martarf24
Summary: Jungwoo's life was hell. His parents beat him at his house and he also gets bullied at school. At least, he has his best friend Ten.But, could a group of possible new friends change that?Or, Jungwoo meets Jaehyun and Doyoung , two boys who make his awful life less awful.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is another work about Jaedowoo. This is how they met and I hope this also helps you get to know the characters better. 
> 
> In this, Jungwoo is 15, Jaehyun is 16 and Doyoung is 17.
> 
> I hope you like it ^^♡

Jungwoo woke up to the sound of loud screams coming from downstairs. He cursed to himself and looked at the clock that was on his wall. 6:30 AM and his parents were already screaming. He sighed. He didn't have to wake up until 7 AM to go to highschool but now he couldn't go to sleep either.  
  
He sat on the bed, wincing when he finally sat up. The bruises on his tummy and chest still hurt. Last night, his parents thought that it would be fun to just kick him for studying in his bedroom. He just didn't understand his parents anymore. Not that he had understood them before anyways.  
  
He decided to shower before going to school. He couldn't even do it last night because when his parents decided that it was enough for him, he just fell on his bed, exhausted after all the hits, and he fell asleep.  
  
He unlocked his door to go out of his bedroom. He forgot to lock his door last night and now, he regretted it so much. His bedroom was the only place in the entire house where he felt safe and it was only because it was the only room in the house that he could lock.   
  
He closed his door quietly and walked in silence to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror for the first time since yesterday. He hadn't seen the bruises yet, but just with the pain he could feel he knew that it would be bad, especially in his abdomen.  
  
The first thing he saw in the mirror was his face. He had dark circles under his eyes. Jungwoo had had troubles to sleep since his parents started mistreating him, which was when he was 8 or 9. However, the bags under his eyes looked worse than he remembered them to be a few days ago.  
  
His hair was sticking into every direction, brown locks going everywhere. His hair was a little longer than what he was used to and it was a little curly, so he would have to talk to Ten to cut it for him. Yes, Ten knew how to cut hair and Jungwoo didn't have that much money to go to a proper hairdresser.  
  
He smiled a little when he made sure that he didn't have any bruises in his face. He wasn't worried about having to hide it from Ten because his best friend knew about his situation since the two of them met. He met Ten when he was 12 yers old and Jungwoo was 10. By now, Jungwoo was 15 and Ten was 17 and he had helped Jungwoo since he knew about his relationship with his parents.   
  
With his face free of bruises, he had one less thing to worry about. He knew that if he had anything on his face, the people who annoyed him at school would have one more thing to laugh about, even if it was cruel to do it.  
  
He almost whimpered when he raised his arms to take his shirt off. He looked at the mirror again and saw blue, purple and red bruises everywhere, from his neck to his hips and even some blood from where his skin had been broken. One big purple bruise was located on his stomach. Well, he already knew that it would be bad so he wasn't that surprised. He felt how hard his father had kicked him yesterday.  
  
He took off the rest of his clothes and entered the shower. He took a quick shower with cold water. It wasn't like he had any other option because his parents had already taken all the warm water. It couldn't be healthy to be showering in cold water at 6 AM in January, but he couldn't do anything about it. He was lucky that he hasn't gotten sick yet.  
  
He tried to move as gently as he could to cause himself as less pain as possible, but it wasn't really working because he had bruises everywhere that hurt with every little movement.   
  
He ended his shower quickly and put on an old blue hoodie and some black jeans. He brushed his hair a little and went to his bedroom again. He also applied an ointment that Ten had given him to treat his bruises. Ten always used it for his bruises (that he got from dancing). He looked at the clock again. 6:45 AM. He still had some time left before going to school, so he decided to study a little more for his math exam.   
  
When it was 7 AM, he closed his book and took his bag. He made sure that he had everything and he went downstairs. He stopped walking to listen. The screams had stopped and he made sure that none of his parents were near the front door from where he was. He didn't see anyone there so he quickly left his house.   
  
He crossed the street and knocked on the house that was just across of his. Ten's mother opened the door and smiled at him.  
  
"Jungwoo, good morning, honey. Ten is having breakfast. Do you want anything?" She smiled as he let the brunet in.  
  
"Can I have some fruit? I forgot to eat something before leaving" He asked while going to the kitchen. He knew Ten's house like he knew his own. He had been there more time than he had been in his house since he had known Ten.  
  
"Good morning, Woo" Ten said, sitting in the table at the kitchen. He was eating a toast.  
  
"Good morning, Tennie" Jungwoo said to his best friend. Ten's mother gave him an apple and a banana which he thanked her for.  
  
They had breakfast while talking and, after 10 minutes, they left the house to go to their school.  
  
"Woo, did something happen last night?" Ten asked, not really mentioning his parents but Jungwoo knew that it was about them.  
  
"Well, just some bruises here and there and I would really appreciate if you didn't touch my stomach right now" Jungwoo said honestly. He didn't hide anything from Ten. He trusted him with his life and he knew that the older really cared about him, so he was always honest with him.  
  
"Why didn't you come to my house then? Did you use that ointment that I gave you?" Ten asked, worried.  
  
"Yes, I used it. I fell asleep last night and I didn't wake up until this morning. Sorry, I should have texted you" Jungwoo said, apologizing.  
  
"It's okay, but please, come to my house when that happens" Ten said while putting his arm around Jungwoo's waist carefully. Jungwoo slumped against Ten, sighing tiredly. He really needed to sleep.  
  
"Well, on the bright side, I want to introduce you some new friends. You already know Kun, right?" Ten asked.  
  
"Yes, he seems nice" Jungwoo thought about the Chinese boy. He had met him a couple of times and he had been nice enough to not bother him like a lot of people in his highschool and not ask anything too personal. He was the same age as Ten and he looked really kind.  
  
"Well, Kun has some friends and he told me that he wanted us to meet them" Ten said excitedly.  
  
"Ten, be honest, no one wants to meet me. Most of the school hates me for some reason and nobody would want to be related with me in any way. I still don't know how you are still with me" Jungwoo sighed.  
  
"Jungwoo, don't talk like that. I love you a lot and I really care about you. You are an amazing person and I know that Kun's friends are good people. If they aren't, I'll kick them for treating you badly. They have also started hanging out with more people so don't think that we'll be left out"   
  
"Yes, okay. I trust you. But please, don't beat them if they don't want to talk with me" Jungwoo said smiling, knowing that his friend would kick them anyways.  
  
Their conversation stopped when they arrived at the school. Jungwoo stood straight and started walking near Ten. He looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone.   
  
"Look, it's the walking trashcan" Someone said. He knew that it was directed at him, but he didn't say anything. He just grabbed Ten's arms because he knew that the shorter one would answer them.  
  
"It's not worth it. Let's go to our classrooms, okay?" He said while dragging Ten with him.  
  
"I'll really kill those assholes one day" Ten muttered and Jungwoo just smiled.  
  
Jungwoo and Ten continued going to their classrooms. Ten's was near his, but the older couldn't really stay with him until the class started because his teachers always arrived soon and they were so annoying when it came to punctuality that Ten had to go to his classroom early.  
  
They stopped walking when they arrived at Ten's classroom. Then, Jungwoo remembered something.  
  
"Ten, can you cut my hair? It's getting too long and I don't trust myself with scissors" Jungwoo asked.  
  
"Sure, I'll cut it after we eat later" At that moment, Kun appeared in the hallway, calling Ten.  
  
"Ten, good morning. Oh, Jungwoo, good morning to you too" Kun approached them smiling.   
  
"Good morning" Both of them answered.  
  
"Ten, you remember that today during lunch you have to come and meet my friends. They want to meet you. And you too, Jungwoo. Don't think that I forgot about you" Kun said, smiling brightly at Jungwoo. How could someone be so bright and happy that early, Jungwoo didn't know.  
  
"Of course I remember. I told Jungwoo on our way here" Ten answered.  
  
"Kun-ssi, don't feel pressured to invite me too. I know that I don't have the best reputation around here and I understand that some people prefer to stay away from me" Jungwoo said, smiling a little to make the older understand that he appreciated the gesture.  
  
"Please, don't be so formal, just call me hyung. And don't talk like that about yourself. There's nothing wrong with you. There are just a lot of idiots here that like to annoy everyone. You should come too, I would really like that" Kun smiled at him again.  
  
"Okay, then I'll see you at lunch" Jungwoo said. The bell rang and he ran to his classroom after waving at the two boys.  
  
Now, the worst part of the day began. When he was out of his classroom, in the hallways, he was always with Ten and he ignored whatever people said to him, but in his classroom it was different. Ten was older than him and that meant that he was alone in his classroom. There, a lot of people used him as something to laugh at, ignoring the fact that he just wanted to study and learn. Not everyone in his classroom annoyed him, but most of them did and the rest just laughed or didn't say anything about it.   
  
During those eternal hours, he just had to put up with everything those people say to him. Not even the teachers did anything about it. Well, it wasn't like calling his parents would help either. He just had to endure it. It was usually some insults here and there, some jokes, sometimes they even hit him, but he could endure it.  
  
The worst thing was when he had PE. He wasn't that athletic and he only really liked football. Those were the worst hours because his bullies liked to hurt him physically and call it a mistake. He couldn't remember the times he had gone to see   
the nurse after one of those classes.  
  
He entered the classroom and sat in his seat. He started taking out his things when one of his classmates started bothering him.  
  
"Oh, look at who had finally arrived. I thought you wouldn't come today. Had a rough night, trash?" Woojin said, mocking him.  
  
Jungwoo didn't answer him and that seemed to annoy the other boy.  
  
"I'm talking to you, rat, so you better answer when I talk to you" He said while throwing his book to the ground.  
  
Jungwoo sighed and just got his book from the ground, this time keeping it in his hands.  
  
"Please, just leave me alone" He answered looking down.  
  
"Oh, don't tell me that you are already crying. You are so pathetic" Woojin said, hitting his head when he finished talking. Jungwoo wasn't even crying but well, Woojin just wanted to make fun of him.  
  
One of his friends, Byungho, sat in front of him.  
  
"You can't even take a hit without crying. I didn't know you were so weak, shitface" He said and hit Jungwoo again. Jungwoo didn't say anything. He knew that whatever he said, the other two wouldn't stop until the class started.   
  
Finally, after some more hits, the teacher arrived and the class started. That didn't stop the bullies though, but at least all they could do was insult him and not hit him again.   
  
By the end of the first hour, he had a headache and his neck was hurting as well. He had done a good job at protecting his abdomen so it didn't hurt any further, but it still hurt to breathe and move.  
  
After what seemed an eternity, lunch arrived and he could finally relax for a while. He could finally go with Ten to eat outside where there weren't many people. There he could just talk with Ten and prepare himself for the next few hours.  
  
He waited until everyone left the class to leave. He knew from experience that it was the best to just wait. Teenagers ran like little kids when the class before lunch ended and he wouldn't want to be in front of them, even less if they loved to bully him.  
  
Then, he remembered that he had to go to   
the cafeteria with Ten to meet Kun's friends. He groaned. And he thought he could relax fo a while. He just hoped that none of them actually bothered him.  
  
He started walking towards the cafeteria and he felt how anxiety started growing inside of him. His breath quickened and it was getting harder to stay calm. He didn't like to meet new people. Most of them would just ignore him or annoy him. Jungwoo didn't want to get also bothered by people who were older than him.  
  
He went to the bathrooms to try to calm down a little. He couldn't get there while he was having a panic attack. He entered one of the stalls and tried to calm himself by breathing how Ten had taught him.  
  
After a few minutes, he managed to breath properly and stop the anxious feeling in his chest. He felt tired, physically and emotionally, but Jungwoo knew that he couldn't skip any classes or his parents would have another reason to beat him.  
  
He walked to the cafeteria, that was now full, and started looking for Ten or Kun. Ten had silver hair, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find him. He finally saw him waving at him and he started walking towards the table he was sitting in.   
  
Jungwoo started getting nervous again. There were a lot of people there and all of them looked older than him. Ten got up from where he was sitting and grabbed his hand, making him stand closer to the table.  
  
"Guys, he is my best friend, Jungwoo. I hope you treat him well or I'll kill you" Ten said, gesturing to the rest of the table.   
  
Jungwoo gulped nervously and said "N-nice to meet you"   
  
"Oh, we should introduce ourselves again" A boy with red hair said. Jungwoo had seen some of the people that were sitting in that table in the hallways sometimes, but he hadn't spoken to them in fear of getting more bullies.  
  
"Hello, my name is Taeil. I hope we'll become friends" Another boy with red hair said. He looked young, but the book in his hands was for the last year, so he had to be older than him. He talked calmly and that made Jungwoo like him a little.  
  
"So, you are the Jungwoo that Kun and Ten had been talking about. Well, I'm glad to finally meet you. I'm Yuta" Another boy, with black wavy hair, smiled at him from where he was sitting.  
  
"Don't mind him. Kun hasn't said anything bad about you. I'm Doyoung, by the way. Nice to meet you" Doyoung smiled at him, too. Jungwoo looked at him. He smiled in his head when he thought that the boy with black hair looked like a bunny.  
  
He saw Kun waving at him and Jungwoo waved back, appreciating the gesture that he had told the others about him but he hadn't said anything bad. He looked at the other side of the table. If he remembered well, Ten had told him that Kun and his friends would be hanging out with other people too, so he supposed that those were who he was talking about.  
  
"My name is Lee Taeyong, nice to meet you" The same boy that talked first said. Taeyong had sharp facial features that made him look unreal. However, he had a smile in his face that made him look adorable with how his big eyes shined.  
  
"Hello. Wow, I'm happy to finally meet you. Ten always talks about you a lot and it's nice to finally getting to know you. I'm Johnny" Johnny said. Even if he was sitting, Jungwoo could see that the older boy was tall, really tall. Buy, even if he seemed like a giant, he had a gentle smile on his face, making him look like a puppy.  
  
"I'm Jaehyun and this is my friend Sicheng. He's a little shy but don't worry, he'll warm up to you soon" A handsome boy with brown hair smiled at him. Jungwoo noticed his dimples that made him look even better. The boy who was sitting by his side, Sicheng, smiled and waved at him.  
  
"Hello, I'm Sicheng. I'm from China, like Kun-ge. Nice to meet you" He said soflty.  
  
Jungwoo bowed and smiled back at them. After that, he sat between Ten and Taeyong. The moment he sat down, Ten put his arm around his shoulders. Ten was small, but Jungwoo had gotten so thin and skinny that Ten's arm surrounded his frame completely.  
  
He relaxed then and took a deep breath. Well, that hadn't been that bad. He still couldn't trust them. He couldn't be sure that any of them wouldn't start bullying him after some time. He had to make sure that none of them would actually hurt him before trusting them.   
  
But he hadn't expected them to be so nice to him. He was sure that most of the school knew that he was being bullied because his appearance wasn't the best. Yes, he showered and he was always clean, but his clothes and school supplies were old and broken.   
  
His parents didn't give him any money or bought him anything like clothes or books, so he had to make money by himself to be able to have things like that. He had worked at a convenience store for a while but right now he couldn't work because of school. Whenever he had some money, Jungeoo always bought new clothes because he kept wearing his older clothes that looked awful by now. He couldn't buy clothes whenever he wanted and the same was for his school supplies. Jungwoo always made sure to use everything for as long as he could even if that meant that he looked like a stray cat.  
  
People at school liked to make fun of him because of that, saying that he was poor and that he shouldn't even be at the same highschool as them. Jungwoo didn't mind that, but he always dreamed to have nice things that made him feel happy. He couldn't afford that now, sadly.  
  
Ten tried to buy him some clothes and even give him some of his own, but Jungwoo always said no to him. Ten already did a lot for him, letting him stay at his house almost all day to reduce his chances of being beaten up by his parents. He couldn't bother his friend like that.  
  
He looked around the table. Everyone was eating their lunch that they brought from home. Jungwoo usually didn't have anything to eat at school so he wasn't eating anything like the rest or them. Ten, as always, had noticed and gave him some of his lunch. It was Thai food made by Ten's mother. He ate a little but not so much. He wasn't that hungry to begin with, his nerves making him feel a little nauseous.   
  
Ten was talking to Yuta and Taeil who were in front of them. Jungwoo decided not to enter the conversation, just listening was okay with him. He was really shy and the way his parents and people at school had treated him had made him even more reserved. It was really hard for him to talk to new people and even harder to trust them. He was lucky to have Ten, the Thai boy had always been good to him and he had learned to trust him little by little because Ten had showed him that he wanted to be his friend, a real friend.   
  
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked and saw Taeyong smiling at him.  
  
"Hey, aren't you hungry?" He asked.  
  
"Not really. I usually don't eat lunch so I'm not really hungry" Jungwoo tried to mantain a normal conversation with him. He couldn't know if these people would be good like Ten or would treat him like his classmates if he didn't talk to them. So, he forced himself to talk to Taeyong even if that made him feel nervous and anxious.  
  
"That's not good for you! How old are you?" Taeyong suddenly said and that surprised Jungwoo. What made him change so suddenly?  
  
"I'm 15" Jungwoo answered nevertheless.  
  
"I knew it. You are still growing, you can't just skip meals! Did you have breakfast this morning?" Taeyong sounded worried, genuinely worried, and that surprised Jungwoo even more.  
  
"Oh no, Taeyong-hyung has started nagging. Jungwoo, good luck because he won't stop now" Jaehyun said, chuckling a little. Jungwoo was now confused. Why would Taeyong care about him when he had just met him? He couldn't understand.  
  
"Well, he needs to eat to stay healthy and grow. Here, have this sandwich, I'm full by now" Taeyong put his sandwich in front of him. Jungwoo's eyes opened in surprise. He was about to talk when another voice interrupted him.  
  
"Have some of my salad, too. You need to eat vegetables to be healthy" Doyoung also gave him some of his food and smiled at him.  
  
Jungwoo was even more confused by now. Why were they doing that? He wasn't used to people being nice to him, so he was a little wary. But, both of them had been eating the same food that they had given him so it should be okay.  
  
He whispered to Taeyong "Don't take this in a bad way but, why are you doing this? Why do you care?" Jungwoo asked confused.  
  
Taeyong's face softened and he smiled at him.  
  
"Jungwoo, Ten hasn't said anything about it, but we have eyes. You are very thin and you look like you need to eat more. I won't ask anything because I know that it's still early for me to know such a personal information, but I want to help you, okay? I know from experience that bullying can make you very shy and that it's hard to trust new people, but please, let me help you okay?" Taeyong had been looking into Jungwoo's eyes while he said that. Jungwoo hadn't expected such a sincere answer and the fact that Taeyong wanted to help him made him a little emotional.  
  
Jungwoo felt how his eyes watered and he looked down. He couldn't cry in front of everyone but a tear escaped. Taeyong noticed and gave him a tissue. He caressed his back gently in silence, waiting for Jungwoo to be ready to talk again.  
  
Once the younger boy was calm enough, he looked up again, making Taeyong look at him too.   
  
"Better?" Taeyong asked. He had been whispering everything and no one in the   
table had noticed their conversation. Taeyong didn't want anyone to ask inappropiate questions so he made sure that only Jungwoo and him heard this conversation.  
  
"Yes" Jungwoo sniffled a little. He smiled at Taeyong and said "Thanks, Taeyong-ssi"  
  
"You don't need to be so formal with me. Just call me hyung" He said while patting his back.  
  
"Okay, hyung" He felt weird calling someone hyung. Ten had told him a long time ago to stop using honorifics with him because he really didn't care about them and he didn't have any other friends so it was almost a new experience for him.  
  
Jungwoo started eating, now less nervous than before. Then he remembered something that Taeyong said.  
  
"Taeyong-hyung, can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't want to" Jungwoo asked carefully.  
  
"Sure" Taeyong answered.  
  
"You said you knew from experience that bullying makes you more reserved. Have you been bullied before?" Jungwoo asked  
  
"Ah, that. Yes, I was bullied when I was younger. People laughed at me saying that I was too thin and that I was crazy just because I was shy. After that, I had a hard time trusting people, especially people that I didn't know. However I was lucky becasue I met Doyoung, Yuta and Johnny and they helped me a lot. I don't know where I would be without them" He told his story to Jungwoo while making sure that he ate everything.  
  
Jungwoo was surprised that someone as good and handsome as Taeyong had been bullied in the past. He seemed to be okay now, but bullying really affects a person.  
  
They continued talking through their lunch, telling some experiences and getting to know eachother better. Taeyong told Jungwoo that he had an older sister and a younger brother. He also told him that he wanted to become a dance teacher in the future because he loved dancing a lot. He promised to show Jungwoo sometime if he wanted to learn some moves.  
  
Jungwoo also told him some things about himself. He didn't say anything too personal, but Taeyong didn't seem to mind it and, as he had said before, it was still too early to share things like that. Both of them knew that they had to learn to trust eachother but that it wouldn't be something immediate.  
  
By the end of the lunch, Jungwoo was sure that Taeyong wanted to become his friend and that he really seemed to care about him. Taeyong could understand what he was going through and he told him that he could look for him whenever he was in trouble. Jungwoo really appreciated that.  
  
When the bell rang again, signaling that classes would start soon, everyone got up from the table.   
  
"Woo, what class are you going to?" Ten asked Jungwoo.  
  
"127, you?" He asked.  
  
"I have to go to the gym. I have PE now" Ten sighed and Jungwoo laughed. He knew that his best friend hated PE a lot because he didn't like his teacher.  
  
"Jungwoo, I have to go to class 128, let's go together" Johnny said.  
  
"I have to go to 125 so I'll go with you too" Taeil said.  
  
"Okay" Jungwoo didn't know if he could really trust those two in front of his classmates. He knew a lot of people who didn't say anything to him when he was alone but when his classmates were annoying him they started to annoy him too. This could be an opportunity to know if they would be assholes when the others weren't around.  
  
That also didn't mean that Jungwoo wasn't terrified. He was too scared to fight people of his age back, imagine people who were a few years older than him. Johnny was also really tall now that he was standing up. Taeil wasn't that tall, but Jungwoo was still smaller than him. He didn't think he could protect himself from them if they decided to hit him.  
  
He gulped nervously and walked with the other two to their classes. Soon, a conversation started.  
  
"So, Jungwoo, you said you were 15 right?" Johnny asked.  
  
"Yes, why?" He asked trying to sound calm. His face didn't show how nervous he really was.  
  
"Well, now that I think of it, if we all become friends you would be our youngest" Johnny said, smiling again. How a boy that was so tall could look so gentle? Jungoo had always associated big people with violence (thanks to his father) but Johnny seemed to be calm and kind.  
  
"Oh, really? How old are you?" Jungwoo asked.  
  
"Well, I'm 18, Yuta and Taeyong too" He answered. That meant that this was probably their last year in his highschool.  
  
"I'm 19 so I am the oldest" Taeil suddenly joined the conversation.  
  
"Then all of you are my hyungs" Jungwoo said. He suddenly felt excited to have so many hyungs when, a few hours ago, he only had Ten with him.  
  
"Yep. Wait, Taeil-hyung, shouldn't you be at college by now?" Johnny asked.  
  
"I should be, but I lost one year because I couldn't study. I had some health issues on the past that caused me to stay at the hospital almost every week and after that I came to live here so I had to change schools. That time was a mess" Taeil said, chuckling a little.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked such a personal thing" Johnny said, frowning at himself for being so careless.  
  
"But, are you okay now? I mean, you don't have any health problems now, right?" Jungwoo asked, now worried.  
  
"No, it's okay. I'm okay now and that was a long time ago. I also met Doyoung and Kun by that time and then we met Yuta who also came from another country. I guess I'm grateful now because I could meet them even if the circumstances weren't the best" He smiled at the memory.  
  
"That's good. I wouldn't like to see you sick now that we are going to be friends, hyung. I'll make sure that you are always healthy" Johnny said, now the frown nowhere to be seen.  
  
"I'll help you, hyung. We'll make sure that Taeil-hyung is always healthy" Jungwoo said, suddenly following Johnny. Taeil was blushing by now.  
  
"Not you too. Doyoung is already acting like my mother, making me eat vegetables and drink water" Taeil said embarrassed.  
  
"He and Taeyong will be good friends then" Johnny chuckled.  
  
They had arrived at their classes that were side by side. All of the students were still out and that meant that the teachers hadn't arrived yet. Jungwoo thought that once they were at their classrooms, Johnny and Taeil would leave him alone to go with their classmates, but they stayed with him. They continued talking and joking, making Taeil even more embarrassed. They were having a good time but their teachers arrived and they had to get into their own classes. Jungwoo found Johnny and Taeil nice, but he still didn't trust them. Jungwoo's classmates hadn't done anything to him and that made Jungwoo happy but at the same time, he didn't know how the other two would react when his classmates did something to him.  
  
The rest of Jungwoo's day was pretty uneventful. His classmates continued bullying him, his teachers continued to ignore him. When the classes ended, he went home with Ten. He was also accompanied by Jaehyun, Doyoung and Kun, who lived near them.  
  
Ten cut his hair that afternoon, making it look fluffy and shiny. They spent the afternoon doing their homework together and then watching a film. Jungwoo went to his home before dinner, saying that he had to study. He knew that if he got home late, his parents would beat him again.  
  
When he entered his house, he tried to be silent. But life didn't like him because his father was waiting for him on front of the door. The moment he stepped in, he was kicked by his father in his thighs. He fell down to the ground and his father started kicking his stomach. Jungwoo couldn't breathe, the pain was too much. His stomach was already bruised and now it was getting even worse.  
  
After a while, his father stopped and left. He never said anything when he beat him. Neither did his mother. Jungwoo couldn't even know why his parents were mad at him because they never even told him. His father usually kicked or punched him. He had a lot of strength to do so. His mother, on the other hand, liked to use a belt or another object to hurt him. Jungwoo didn't know what to expect when it came to her.  
  
He got up from the floor and went upstairs. He couldn't walk properly but he made it to his bedroom. There, he closed the door and locked it. He finally could feel relaxed.

Jungwoo got the ointment that Ten had given him a while ago for his bruises. He lifted his hoodie, wincing whem he touched his bruised stomach. If it was bad before, now it was even worse. He started coughing and, hell, did it hurt. When he could stop coughing, he tried to breathe to calm the pain but it even hurt to do so.  
  
With tears running down his face, he applied the ointment and laid down. He tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in but no matter what positiong he was in, he was still in pain.  
  
He didn't get much sleep that night.  


* * *

  
The next day, he woke up earlier than the day before. He wanted to get out of his house as soon as possible and he wanted to avoid seeing his parents at all costs. He didn't think he could go to school if his parents saw him again.  
  
He showered, with cold water again, and left his house. Luckily, none of his parents seemed to be awake. He went to Ten's house even if it was a little early. He had texted him before leaving his house to know if he was awake and Ten had replied that he would be waiting for him by the door.   
  
He didn't even had to call him because Ten opened the door for him when he was about to. Ten ushered him inside. They sat at the couch alone. Ten's mother was at work and his father was still asleep.   
  
"What happened? I know that something must have happened. You don't usually do this" He asked, taking Jungwoo's hand.  
  
"My father saw me again yesterday. He kicked at the same place and I don't think I could have gone to school if he saw me again today, so I had to get out of there earlier" Jungwoo said, lifting his hoodie for Ten to see the damage. Ten gasped and got up. He disappeared in the hallway and then, he returned with the same ointment that he had given Jungwoo.  
  
Ten put some in his hand and applied it to Jungwoo's stomach. Jungwoo winced, but he stayed still. Once he ended applying it, he started talking again.  
  
"That looks bad, Woo" He whispered.  
  
"I know, but I can't really do anything. You know that if I say this to anyone I could be put into adoption or something like that. I don't want to be separated from you" Jungwoo's eyes started watering at the thought of not seeing Ten again.  
  
"It's okay, it's okay. Come here, I'm here with you, I'm not going anywhere" Ten hugged Jungwoo, running his hands through his hair, trying to calm him down. Jungwoo's situation wasn't the best, but he would be there for him. He was also afraid to lose Jungwoo but he couldn't just watch how his friend got destroyed day by day by his own parents. Ten knew that they couldn't really do anything if they didn't want Jungwoo to go away, but he was so angry at the situation.  
  
"Let's eat some breakfast, okay?" They ate some cereals and they left.   
  
When they arrived at their highschool, they saw Kun and Doyoung at Ten's class. Jungwoo talked with them for a while and then left to his own classroom. When he was almost there, he saw Jaehyun and Sicheng in the same hallway. Once they noticed him, they waved at him and told him to get near them.  
  
Jungwoo felt nervous again, but he didn't have any problems yesterday with Johnny and Taeil, so he decided to go to them.  
  
"Good morning, Jungwoo-yah" Jaehyun said smiling at him. Jungwoo tried to smile back, but he was sure that his smile wasn't nearly as pretty.   
  
"Good morning" He answered. Suddenly, Sicheng started talking.  
  
"What class do you have next, Jungwoo? I think we could go there together" Sicheng said and suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him to his side. "Sorry, that kid almost bumped into you" He said while glaring at the other kid. Jungwoo noticed how Sicheng had just protected him from getting hit by one of his classmates.  
  
"Thanks" He smiled at him. Sicheng stopped glaring at the other kid to smile back at him. He made Jungwoo stay between Jaehyun and him to make sure that no one did anything to him.  
  
They continued talking until their teachers arrived. Jaehyun and Sicheng went with him until he entered his class. Jungwoo felt happy. Both of them had made sure that nothing happened to him at least until he had to enter in his class. Maybe they didn't know that he was being bullied, but they had protected him even if they didn't know what they were protecting him from.  
  
His day continued as always. His classmates still annoyed him and everything, but he was happier to go to lunch. He had a good time, talking with Taeyong and Jaehyun. Doyoung also joined their conversation and he also started nagging. Ten was still by his side, offering his food which caused Johnny and Taeil to also share their food. He also talked with Kun and Sicheng, who told him how China was and that made Yuta talk about Japan as well.  
  
Yeah, maybe his situation hadn't changed that much but he was a little bit happier than before.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungwoo gets closer to his new friends but it can't all be happiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited to continue writing this and I hope that you like this too ^^ thank you so much for all the support from the first chapeter♡
> 
> I hope you like this chapter too and feel free to tell em if there are any mistakes :D

It had been a week since he had met Kun's friends and he liked them so far. Yes, they didn't knew about his parents yet, but he didn't know if he even was going to tell them soon. It was something way too personal for him and he didn't want to bother them even more. He was also still afraid that some of them might hurt him or betray him.  
  
Since he had met them, he was never alone while going to his classes. He was always accompanied by at least one of them and they made sure to take care of him. He was still bullied inside his classroom and the bullying during PE classes got worse, but he was left alone when he was in the hallways and at the cafeteria.  
  
Taeyong always talked with him whenever the two of them were together. He also made sure he ate everyday. The two of them had gotten really close because they liked similar things and had similar experiences. He had hang out with him a few times already and he had met his sister and his brother. Both of them were very nice and had welcomed him in their house. His little brother, Mark, would be coming to their highschool the following year so Jungwoo was sure that the younger boy would become his friend too. Mark was studying in a different highschool than Taeyong because he was taking a bilingual course that Taeyong's highschool didn't have. But Mark wanted to go to Taeyong's highschool because he knew Taeyong's friends and he liked them. Taeyong didn't have a problem with that but when they had tried to change him, it was too late because classes had already started and Mark had to finish the year in his highschool. Taeyong had tried to talk with him about the bullying he was receiving, but Jungwoo always changed the topic of the conversation. He knew that it would end in telling his parents but he knew that his parents wouldn't do anything and Taeyong might know about his parents if he tried to call them and Jungwoo didn't want that. He appreciated the efforts but he couldn't let Taeyong know about his parents. Not yet at least.  
  
Kun had also become one of his friends. He had proved to be as nice and kind as Jungwoo thought him to be. He had also stayed at his house some afternoons after school with Ten and they had a good time. He was really chill and he always made sure that Jungwoo was comfortable. Jungwoo knew that Kun suspected that something was wrong with him but he didn't say anything. Kun was waiting for him to talk and Jungwoo appreciated that but he couldn't talk about it yet.  
  
Yuta had proven to be very different from when he first met him. Yuta was really playful and he liked to tease his friends, just like Ten. But both of them always made sure to stop when it was becoming too much. After spending time with him, he got to know how caring and lovely he really was. Once while waiting for their teachers in the hallway, Yuta started teasing Jungwoo, just joking. However, for Jungwoo it meant something entirely diferent. He thought that Yuta would start bullying him.  
  
("Midget, these teachers seem to be- Hey, are you okay?" Yuta's face suddenly changed completely. He went from laughing relaxed to complete concern.  
  
Jungwoo just kept looking down, not daring to look at Yuta. He suddenly noticed what he had been doing. He knew he should have stopped teasing him.  
  
"Jungwoo, I'm so sorry. Oh my god, come here" Yuta was also really touchy and he loved to hug people. He hugged him immediately, holding Jungwoo close while whispering things to him.  
  
"I won't do it again, I promise. I'm not like those assholes, I'm sorry. You are amazing, Woo, you're so nice and polite and I shouldn't have told anything bad to you" Yuta continued hugging Jungwoo until he felt the younger boy relax in his arms and hug him back.  
  
"I'm sorry, hyung. You were just joking but I can't even take a joke" Jungwoo interrupted him with a fragile voice.  
  
"No, no. It's my fault. I know that those assholes treat you so bad and I shouldn't have done that. Everything was just a joke, okay? You aren't any of that, okay? You are amazing" Yuta said taking Jungwoo's face in his hands. Jungwoo had started crying at some point and Yuta felt even worse.  
  
"Don't cry. Oh god, I made you cry. I feel awful, Woo, I'm sorry. Don't cry, don't cry" Yuta cleaned Jungwoo's face with his thumbs. Jungwoo giggled through his tears. He had calmed down a little and now he could see how concerned Yuta was.  
  
"It's okay, hyung. It was just a joke, I'm okay. I just freaked out a little" He said trying to smile. Yuta wasn't making fun of him, Yuta wasn't like that.  
  
Yuta seeing his smile cooed and said "Oh, you are so precious" Yuta squished his face after that.)  
  
After that day, Yuta started babying Jungwoo whenever he could. He still joked around him but he always made sure that he was okay with it.  
  
Johnny was similar to Yuta. At first, Jungwoo thought that Johnny was a little intimidating but, on the inside, he was really caring and gentle. Jungwoo could say he was a gentle giant. He always made sure to protect him from the bullies at school even if he hadn't asked him directly about it. He also joined Yuta in babying him whenever they were at lunch, and not only him. Taeil also suffered the same and both of them had already blushed of embarrasment because of Johnny.  
  
Taeil did the same as Johnny. Well, all of them did that now. Taeil was someone that Jungwol felt like he could trust even if he was older than him. Taeil was too loveable and Jungwoo was always happy to be around the elder. Jungwoo always joked with him that he and Johnny would make sure that he was always healthy and Taeil just took everything even if he felt embarrassed. Taeil, even if he was the oldest, spent a lot of time with Jungwoo at highschool because most of his classes were near so Jungwoo had started trusting him.  
  
Sicheng had also opened to him after a while. Once he got more comfortable around him, Jungwoo discovered a new side of him. He was dorky and so cute that even Jungwoo cooed at him sometimes. Now he could understand why his friends were always pinching his cheeks and calling him cute. Sicheng also proved to be very protective of him. Everyone who had been his friend before said that Sicheng was usually really peaceful and didn't want to get into trouble, but he seemed to be very protective when he was around Jungwoo. He felt really grateful for that. Sicheng always made sure that Jungwoo was by his side whenever they were around Jungwoo's classmates. When someone tried to do something to him, he glared at them and he even scolded them sometimes.  
  
Right now, he was walking with Doyoung and Jaehyun to his classroom. The three of them had gotten really close by now too. Jaehyun had a lot of classes near him and sometimes he even accompanied him to his house. Doyoung also accompanied him when Ten and Kun couldn't go with them. Doyoung had also been so gentle and nice with him that he always felt secure with him. Jaehyun was also as protective as Sicheng, always looking out for him and Doyoung made sure that he ate vegetables at lunch, saying that he needed them to become tall.  
  
Now, they were talking about Jaehyun's teacher who had decided to make him study for a test from one day to another. They were talking and having a good time.  
  
That was until Jungwoo's classmates decided to bother him again. Jungwoo was talking with Jaehyun and Doyoung when one of them suddenly pushed Jungwoo forward. Jungwoo, who didn't see it coming, stumbled forward almost falling on top of Jaehyun. Luckily, the older boy managed to chatch Jungwoo and not fall.   
  
Jungwoo, who now registered that he had almost made Jaehyun fall started shaking. That was it. Jaehyun would be mad at him and he would probably beat him up. The rational part of his brain told him that Jaehyun wasn't agressive and that he wouldn't get angry for something like that, but he was just so used to get hit by doing something like this that he couldn't help but feel anxious.  
  
"I-I'm s-sorry, I-I didn't k-know-" Jungwoo started mumbling. It was getting harder to breath properly and, as he heard someone screaming, he became even more nervous. He hated loud noises. He was gasping for air by now, his entire body shaking in fear. He tried to cover his ears with his hands to stop the loud noises that surrounded him.  
  
What he didn't notice whas how Doyoung had started scolding the boy who had pushed Jungwoo, telling him to stop bothering him. Jaehyun still had Jungwoo in his arms and he noticed how the younger boy started shaking and saying something that he couldn't understand. When he looked at his face, he saw how he was breathing too quick to be normal and that he was covering his ears with his hands.  
  
"Doyoung-hyung, we have to get him out of here. I think he's having a panic attack" Jaehyun called Doyoung, who stopped talking to the other boy that had started running, and looked at Jungwoo. Once he took a look on him, he nodded at Jaehyun.   
  
Jaehyun guided Jungwoo outside to the schoolyard. He didn't mind getting late to class, not when Jungwoo was gasping for air in front of him. He had also started crying at some point, making everything even worse for Doyoung and Jaehyun, who felt their hearts break seeing the younger boy in such a state.  
  
They finally got to a bench where Jaehyun made Jungwoo sit.   
  
Jungwoo thought that Jaehyun was taking him somewhere to beat him without having trouble with the teachers. He thought of trying to escape, but he knew it would be useless. He couldn't run that fast and he wasn't strong at all. He didn't even notice that Jaehyun had made him sit down when he felt someone touching his back.  
  
He flinched at the touch, slouching over himself. Doyoung looked at Jaehyun's eyes. He saw the same worry that he was feeling. Jungwoo was having a panic attack and they weren't really sure about how to help him.  
  
"Jungwoo, hey, it's me, Doyoung-hyung. Don't worry, we aren't going to hurt you" Doyoung said lowly, still caressing his back. Jungwoo seemed to react to his voice and he opened his eyes again.  
  
"D-Doyoung-hyung?" He whispered between gasps.  
  
"Yes, Jungwoo, it's me. Give me your hands okay?" Doyoung took one of Jungwoo's hands from his ears and linked their fingers. Jaehyun did the same with his other hand and started talking to him too.   
  
"Hey, Jungwoo, look at me" He said and Jungwoo looked up.  
  
"You have to take deep breaths, okay? You need to calm down" Jaehyun said gently. Jungwoo looked at him through the tears in his eyes. He didn't expect to see Jaehyun so worried for him, even less to help him through a panic attack. He looked at Doyoung, he also looked concerned for him. He never thought that someone who wasn't Ten would be helping him in a situation like this.  
  
"Jungwoo, breathe like me, okay?" Doyoung put Jungwoo's hand on his chest and started breathing deeply. Jungwoo tried a few times only to end up coughing. He winced when he felt the pain on his stomach. Jaehyun noticed that and sat at Jungwoo's side and started caressing his back making Jungwoo lean a little on himself.   
  
After some time, Jungwoo was finally able to breathe normally again. Doyoung smiled at him and squeezed his hand.   
  
"There you go" He whispered. Jaehyun continued caressing his back, sometimes even touching his hair. Jungwoo, finally relaxed against Jaehyun. He tried to breathe calmly when he noticed what he was doing he sat up and started apologizing.  
  
"S-sorry, I'm so sorry-" Jungwoo said, panicking a little. His words were interrupted by Jaehyun.  
  
"It's okay, it's okay. Don't worry" He said while guiding Jungwoo back to his shoulder. He felt Jungwoo relaxing again. Doyoung ran his hand through Jungwoo's hair, trying to make him more comfortable.  
  
"I'm sorry for that. I was surprised" He said, feeling really tired. Panic attacks really left him exhausted.  
  
"It's okay. But, why did you react like that?" Doyoung asked him. His hand was still in Jungwoo's hair and Jungwoo closed his eyes. He was feeling more relaxed than he had felt in a while.  
  
"I was scared" Jungwoo decided to be honest with them. They had helped him and he didn't want to lie to them.  
  
"Scared?" Jaehyun asked.  
  
"Yes. Whenever something like that happens when I'm at class, the thing I receive is a kick or a punch. I know that none of you would do that, b-but I just reacted like that. I'm sorry" Jungwoo tried not to cry, but the tears started falling without him even noticing.  
  
"No, baby, don't cry, it's okay, it's okay" Doyoung said and hugged Jungwoo. He let the younger boy cry on his shoulder. Both of them knew that Jungwoo didn't have a good relationship with his classmates but they didn't know that it was to that extent.  
  
Jungwoo stopped crying after a while. Doyoung and Jaehyun continued comforting him and telling him that it was okay. When Jungwoo let go of Doyoung, Jaehyun also hugged him.  
  
"Oh Jungwoo, you scared me there" Jaehyun said while Jungwoo hid his face in his chest. He had felt really comfortable in Doyoung and Jaehyun's arms. Now, he knew that he could trust them. Both of them had made sure to keep him safe and they even helped him to calm down, so he was sure that they wouldn't hurt him.  
  
When they separated, Jungwoo sighed and winced as he opened his eyes again. His head hurt a lot. Crying always left him with a headache and the panic attack he just had left him really tired as well. He put a hand on his forehead while frowning. He was getting dizzy now that he wasn't leaning on anything.  
  
"Are you okay?" Doyoung asked while getting his hair out of his eyes.  
  
"You look really pale" Jaehyun said.  
  
Jungwoo swinged a little where he was sitting and both Doyoung and Jaehyun reached out for him.  
  
"Hey, hey, easy there" Doyoung said as he catch him. He made Jungwoo lean on Jaehyun who surrounded him with his arms again.  
  
"Sorry, I just got dizzy" Jungwoo said closing his eyes again. He was feeling really dizzy and nauseous and his head was killing him.  
  
"Are you sure you are okay? You don't look good" Doyoung's hand went back to his hair. Jungwoo really liked that.  
  
"I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping well for a while" Jungwoo didn't know where that honesty came from, but he was really comfortable right now, in Jaehyun's arms and with Doyoung's hand in his hair.  
  
"Then, you should sleep. These have been looking worse these days" Jaehyun said while touching the area under his eyes.  
  
"Not really. They have always been like that. I also get pretty tired after one of these... Wait, how can I sleep now? We're at the school..." He suddenly noticed the problem. "We should be at our classrooms!" He opened his eyes alerted. He tried to get up but Doyoung and Jaehyun didn't let him.  
  
"Don't worry about that. I don't think you could go to that classroom right now" Doyoung said.  
  
"Oh no! I made you skip your classes" Jungwoo felt guilty for that. Yes, he was irresponsible enough to skip a class but now he had also made Doyoung and Jaehyun skip theirs.  
  
"It's okay. I don't really mind. I have already done my test today" Jaehyun said smiling.  
  
"Same for me. You should rest anyways" Doyoung said looking concerned. "But, where do we go?"   
  
"It's the last class and we are already late. Why don't we go home?" Jaehyun suggested.  
  
"I can't go to my house. My parents would kill me if they knew I skipped a class" Doyoung said. "I mean, I'll obviously go with you, but can we go somewhere else?"   
  
"My parents would kill me too so my house isn't an option either" Jungwoo said. He meant that quite literally but Jaehyun and Doyoung didn't need to know that.  
  
"Then, let's go to my house. My mother is out so no one will be there" He said smiling.  
  
He got up and kneeled in front of Jungwoo with his back looking at him. Jungwoo frowned and pouted. He didn't know what Jaehyun was doing.  
  
"I'll carry you. I don't want you fainting on us on the way" He said looking back at him. Jungwoo then got up and jumped. Jaehyun positioned him better in his back and looked at Doyoung.  
  
"Hyung, do you want a ride too? I can carry both of you" He said moving his eyebrows.  
  
"Not really, I'm fine with walking. I didn't think that you would be the type to skip classes, Jaehyun" He smiled again.  
  
"Well, some classes are boring and I don't even like thay stupid teacher" He answered honestly.  
  
Jungwoo heard both of them talking for a while. He just listened. He was way too tired to talk now. Jaehyun's body was warm and, in the cold of January, Jungwoo appreciated it. He was getting more and more tired and, after some time, he let his eyes close and fell asleep.  


* * *

  
Doyoung and Jaehyun continued talking until Doyoung noticed that Jungwoo had fallen asleep.  
  
"Jaehyunnie, lower your voice. He's asleep" He pointed at Jungwoo who had his face hidden in Jaehyun's shoulder.   
  
"Okay. Hyung, I'm worried about him" Jaehyun started, now talking more quietly. They had already left the highschool and Jaehyun had decided to go to his house through some streets that were more calm and weren't that crowded. "I didn't know that the bullying he has been suffering was so bad. I thought that it would be some insults and jokes and that it would end there. Me and my friends thought that it was just that. But Sicheng and I have already seen some of his classmates trying to punch him or kick him while we were waiting for classes to start"   
  
"Yes, I didn't know that the bullying had gotten physical. To be honest, I didn't know that he would be so... bad. I mean, he just had a panick attack and he even said that he had gotten those more than once. He also looks like a skeleton with how skinny he is and the bags under his eyes look like bruises at this point" Doyoung and his friends wanted to help Jungwoo. Kun had heard Ten talking about him a few times but none of them knew who Jungwoo was. When they heard from Ten that he had troubles with his classmates they hadn't expected it to be bullying, even less physical bullying. At that moment, they had talked together and decided to meet both Ten and Jungwoo. Neither of them had a group of friends so they thought that they would be nice from what they heard from Kun and they also wanted to see if Jungwoo was really having trouble with his classmates. And Kun was right, both of them were nice and they had gotten into their group pretty easily, fitting in it almost immediately. Ten was really similar to Doyoung and both of them were often bickering but they got along well and Jungwoo, shy and polite Jungwoo, had made a little place in their hearts already.   
  
Jaehyun's friends had also become their friends and, by now, the two groups have become one. All of them seemed to like eachother and they hadn't had any trouble yet.   
  
Doyoung was happy with his new friends. All of them were happy. But not everything was happiness. They knew that there was something wrong with Jungwoo.  
  
When they finally saw how Jungwoo's classmates treated him, they had no doubt that it was really bullying.   
  
Doyoung wanted to think that it was just that, that everything could be solved with just telling the teachers. But he felt like there was something more. Something more complicated that neither Jungwoo or Ten had told them. He really hoped that it was just his imagination. His friends always told him that he tends to overthink everything so maybe it was just him. He really hoped that.  
  
He noticed that he had been quiet for a while, just thinking, when Jaehyun stopped walking and he almost bumped into him.  
  
"We are here, this is my house" Doyoung looked up. It was a nice house. It was a little smaller than his own, but it had a nice entrance with a little garden in it.   
  
"Hyung, can you get my keys? They are in the pocket" Jaehyun said giving his back to Doyoung.   
  
"Sure" He put his hand on the pocket of Jaehyun's pants and he suddenly started blushing. He was basically touching Jaehyun's butt. And the worst part was that he couldn't find the keys. After some more embarrassing minutes, he finally found the keys and used them to open the door.  
  
When Jaehyun saw his red face, he started smiling. Yes, he really didn't believe in love but seeing Doyoung all flustered made him a little proud. And he couldn't waste a good opportunity to tease him.  
  
"Hyung, why is your face so red?" He sais smirking.  
  
"I-I don't know what you are talking about"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are very appreciated♡♡


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun, Doyoung and Jungwoo spend the afternoom together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm back with a new chapter :D I know that I'm posting fast but I don't know if I will be able to post as much in the next weeks xD sorry about that
> 
> And thank you so much for all of your comments and kudos♡♡♡
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy this new chapter♡

Jaehyun and Doyoung entered the house, Jungwoo still asleep on Jaehyun's back. Doyoung opened the front door and let Jaehyun enter first. It was his house after all.  
  
"Make yourself comfortable. I'll let him sleep in my bedroom" Jaehyun said while walking into the house.   
  
Doyoung walked through the entrance until he found the living room. The walls were a light gray colour that glowed with the sunlight that entered through a big window. There was a dark gray couch and a small black table. There was also a bigger table made of dark wood surrounded by four chairs made in the same wood. There were some photos in the room that showed a little Jaehyun and a woman that was probably his mother. There were also some pictures of Jaehyun with a little black cat.  
  
Doyoung smiled seeing the pictures. Jaehyun looked really cute and he seemed really happy, dimples full on display.   
  
Doyoung sat in the couch and left his bag on the floor. He looked around the room once more when he suddenly felt something touch his feet. He jumped a little at the sensation but, when he looked down, he found a black cat looking at him with bright yellow eyes.  
  
"Hello there" Doyoung said, putting his hand in front of the cat to let it smell it. He also had a cat and he knew how to treat one. However, Hye was really affectionate since she was a kitten and she always let mostly everyone pet her.   
  
The black cat finally rubbed his face in Doyoung's hand, letting him pet it. He didn't know that Jaehyun had a cat.  
  
\- - -  
  
Jaehyun went to his room with Jungwoo still in his back. The younger boy was still asleep and Jaehyun didn't want to wake him up, so he opened the door with his foot, thanking himself for letting it open earlier.  
  
He walked in and put Jungwoo in his bed. He had done his bed that morning so Jungwoo was now laying over the bedsheets. Jaehyun got a blanket and covered Jungwoo with it carefully.  
  
He didn't know how, but Jungwoo woke up when he felt the blanket on him. He opened his eyes a little and started looking around the room. He saw Jaehyun covering him with a blanket.  
  
"Hyung?" He asked confused. He didn't remember what had happened or why he was in a bed.  
  
"Oh, I woke you up, I'm sorry" Jaehyun had tried to he quiet but Jungwoo seemed to be a light sleeper.  
  
"Where...?" Jungwoo was still confused.  
  
"You are at my house. Don't you remember what happened?" Jungwoo shook his head and Jaehyun just smiled at him.  
  
"You had a panic attack at the school and you were tired after it so Doyoung and I brought you to my house" Jaehyun explained and he could almost see how Jungwoo remembered everything.  
  
"Oh... right" Jungwoo whispered. Now he could remember.  
  
"Now, you should sleep, okay? You still look tired" Jaehyun said and ruffled Jungwoo's hair.  
  
"Thanks" Jungwoo whispered before closing his eyes again. He sometimes had trouble to sleep. This week, for example, had been hell for him. No matter how tired he was or how much he wanted to sleep, he simply couldn't. But now, sleep came to him while Jaehyun stroked his hair. He fell asleep again in a moment.  
  
Jaehyun sighed from relieve when Jungwoo fell asleep again. He wanted him to rest because the poor boy needed it.  
  
He left his room, closing the door behind himself, and went to the living room. There, he found Doyoung with his cat, Sunhee.  
  
"I see you have met Sunhee" Jaehyun finally appeared in the living room. "I was looking for her"  
  
"She has been nice so far, don't worry" said Doyoung chuckling while petting the cat.  
  
"She usually isn't nice. That's why I was looking for her. She usually never lets anyone other than me or my mother touch her, even less the first time. I think she likes you" Jaehyun said sitting beside Doyoung.  
  
"I have a cat too, so she might have smelled her on my clothes" Sunhee finally noticed Jaehyun and jumped on his lap.  
  
"I don't know. Sicheng also has a cat but she always tries to bite him whenever he tries to touch her" Jaehyun started petting Sunhee, making her purr softly.  
  
"Did Jungwoo wake up?" Doyoung asked. Both of them were looking at the cat that was now stretching in front of them.  
  
"Just for a moment, but he fell asleep again. And I think he will be sleeping for a while. He looked tired so he really needs to sleep properly" Jaehyun answered.  
  
"That kid makes all of us worry, right?" Doyoung asks rhetorically.  
  
"Well, he has his reasons. His life isn't that easy" They stayed in silence for a while until Jaehyun started talking again.  
  
"Hyung, can I ask you something? I know it will sound silly but it has been bothering me and I just want to ask someone" Jaehyun said looking at Doyoung now.  
  
"Of course"  
  
"It's just that... I feel like there's something more in Jungwoo's life... something that we don't even have an idea about that is wrong. I know, it sounds stupid, but I just have this sensation that something is wrong but I can't tell what it is" Jaehyun was frowning trying to describe what he was feeling to Doyoung.  
  
"I know exactly what you are talking about. I have been feeling like that since I met Jungwoo. It's like, we haven't seen anything except for the bullying but it just feels like there is something more that is worse than that... like the bullying is just a little part of Jungwoo's troubles" Doyoung also tried to let Jaehyun know what he felt but it was really a sensation that he couldn't put into words. It was like a massive worry, like the feeling you get when something bad is going to happen but you don't know what or when it will be.  
  
"I thought I was crazy for a moment" Jaehyun giggled "It just feels so weird, like something you can't explain. I thought that I was just imagining things"   
  
"Yeah, I thought that I was overthinking everything and seeing things were there was nothing" Doyoung was now relieved that someone else felt the same way. But he realized that it might not be that good because something would definitely wrong if both of them felt like that.  
  
"But what could it be? I mean, the bullying is bad already but, what could be even worse?" Jaehyun wondered.  
  
"I don't know, but let's keep an eye on him. If there is something worse it would show somehow at some point" Doyoung knew that they couldn't just go and ask Jungwoo. If the younger boy hadn't said anything to them it must mean that he wasn't ready to share whatever was happening to him with someone else. Ten could know about it, but Doyoung knew from experience that forcing someone to share something that was too personal and private for them was an awful experience so they would have to wait until Jungwoo was ready to talk to them. Or maybe there wasn't anything wrong in the first place. In any case, they would have to wait to know.  
  
"We'll just have to wait for him to come to us, right? This thing of having dongsaengs is new to me" Jaehyun said smiling. "Oh, hyung, we have to tell Kun-hyung and Ten-hyung that we won't be going home with them" Jaehyun got up from the couch to get his phone, making Sunhee jump from his lap to the floor. She started running and disappeared through the door.  
  
"Right, we haven't told anything to anyone" He also got his phone from his bag.  
  
"Should we tell them about the panick attack?" Jaehyun asked. He didn't know if sharing that information would be good.  
  
"Ten probably knows that Jungwoo has had some of them in the past. I want to tell Kun too, but I don't know if Jungwoo wants everyone to know about it" Doyoung thought for a moment. "Let's just tell Ten. He will probably know about it already and then we can ask him if we should tell Kun" He said.   
  
Jaehyun nodded and texted Ten. Doyoung also texted Kun, only telling him that they had gone to Jaehyun's house and that they wouldn't go home with them.  
  
Ten texted back quickly, telling Jaehyun that he knew about the panic attacks. He also asked them if Jungwoo was okay and they answered that he was sleeping now. That relieved Ten. He also told them not to tell anyone about the panic attack because it was personal information that Jungwoo might not want to share yet with the rest of their friends. Both of the agreed with that and just kept it between them.  
  
"Hyung, do you want to eat here? I think Jungwoo will probably stay. Why don't you eat with us too?" Jaehyun asked once they finished texting everyone.  
  
"Okay, I'll stay. Do you know how to cook?" He asked getting up from the couch.  
  
"I'm not a chef, but I know how to survive if needed" Jaehyun smirked. Doyoung just rolled his eyes smiling.  
  
"I guess I'll cook and you'll help me" He said.  
  
"That sounds like a plan. Come to the kitchen" Jaehyun showed him the way and Doyoung followed him.  
  
They decided to make Kimchi Jjigae. Jaehyun had enough ingredients in his house so they didn't have to buy anything.  
  
Jaehyun gave every ingredieng to Doyoung, who started cooking by himself. Jaehyun helped him for some time, but Doyoung told him to start preparing the table where they were going to eat. He had almost finished cooking anyways.  
  
While they were preparing the food, they talked quietly.   
  
"And, hyung, what do you want to do once you finish highschool? You don't have that much time until that happens" Jaehyun asked.  
  
"Well..." Doyoung paused to think "I don't really have anything in mind. Nothing has caught my eye yet. I like music but I know that it will be very difficult to work on something related to that. I also like writing but it's the same thing with music, really difficult to find a job related to it"   
  
"Don't think like that. A lot of people work on music and there are a lot of authors out there that can live well thanks to their books. I didn't know you liked music, hyung. Do you play any instruments?" Jaehyun asked, now curious. He hadn't heard Doyoung talking about music or anything like that so it made him curious.  
  
"I play the piano and I want to learn how to play the guitar, but what I like the most is singing" Jaehyun looked at Doyoung. He looked really happy and bright talking about music. He must really like it if it made him so happy. Jaehyun didn't know why, but he really liked seeing Doyoung like that, talking about what he likes and smiling brightly.  
  
"You sing? Then you have to let me hear you! You must be really good" Jaehyun was excited now, wishing to hear Doyoung sing.  
  
"What? N-no I'm not that good. I just like to sing and when I was younger my mother took me to some singing classes and I have been practicing since then. But I'm not that good at it, believe me" Doyoung was embarrassed again, his face red like a tomato.  
  
"I'm sure you are good" Jaehyun smiled at him again. Doyoung got even more flustered with that smiled directed at him.  
  
"And what about you? Do you have anything in mind?" He tried to change the topic of the conversation. He really wanted to avoid being more embarrassed in front of Jaehyun.  
  
"I want to be a journalist. I know that I still have a lot of time until I finish highschool but I would love to go to college to study and then work on a newspaper or something like that. I like to investigate and find new information about events that had happened recently so I think I would enjoy being a journalist a lot"   
  
"So you have always liked that?" Doyoung asked.  
  
"I have always dreamt of being able to write about what happens everyday. I think that I would also be able to give more visibilty to certain things that happen but not many people know about"   
  
"That's deep and it would be amazing. You will be an amazing journalist, Jaehyun-ah" Doyoung smiled softly at him.  
  
"I hope so. And you will be a great artist. Wait, why don't you become an idol? You would be amazing and I would be able to say that I was friends with Kim Doyoung, the greatest idol" Doyoung smiled at him, looking a little sad. Jaehyun noticed that, but before he could say anything Doyoung started talking.  
  
"I can't be an idol. I'm too ugly for that and I don't think I can even dance without falling" Doyoung laughed softly but Jaehyun could still see sadness in his eyes.  
  
"Hyung, you aren't ugly. And not all idols dance. There are some of them that sing ballads" He tried to lift the mood and Doyoung just smiled at him again.  
  
"Anyways, why don't you wake Jungwoo? The food is ready" He said after a few moments of silence.  
  
"Okay" Jaehyun went to his room but there was a pinch in his stomach. He felt guilty for making Doyoung sad. He wasn't sure why, but he had made Doyoung sad and he didn't want that. He would have to make sure to make Doyoung happy again.  
  
He opened the door of his room. There he found a scene that surprised him a lot. Jungwoo was still sleeping, covered by the blanket that Jaehyun put on him. But now, Sunhee was also sleeping in the bed, curled at Jungwoo's side. She was touching his chest and Jungwoo had his arm almost hugging the cat. What surprised Jaehyun the most was that she was letting Jungwoo touch her while sleeping. Usually, Sunhee would scratch or bite someone if that person tried to touch her while she was sleeping. She also didn't like to sleep so close to someone. Jaehyun always found her sleeping by his feet or in the other side of the pillow.  
  
Jaehyu just admired the scene for a few minutes. Then he remembered that he had to wake Jungwoo up because Doyoung was waiting for them in the living room to eat. He approached Jungwoo, who looked so comfortable that almost made Jaehyun not wake him up. But he had to, so he shook his shoulder a little.  
  
"Jungwoo-yah, hey Jungwoo" he whispered and Jungwoo opened his eyes immediately. This time, Jaehyun noticed that he looked a little nervous, almost scared, but that changed once he saw Jaehyun.  
  
"Oh, hyung. You scared me" Jungwoo said, now hugging the cat. Jaehyun expected Sunhee to scratch him or just jump down the bed, but the cat continued purring and sleeping in Jungwoo's arms.  
  
"Sorry, but Doyoung-hyung and I have prepared something to eat and you have to eat something" Jaehyun said smiling at the younger boy. He looked so cute right now. His brown hair was even messier than before. His cheecks were a little blushed, making him look a lot better than before. He had been really pale but now, it seemed like sleeping a little had helped. Jungwoo was pouting, probably without even knowing, while rubbing his eyes.   
  
"I see you have met my cat, Sunhee" Jaehyun giggled and Jungwoo looked at the cat asleep in front of him.  
  
"Yes, she came before and woke me up to pet her. But then I got sleepy and she just came here and fell asleep too" Jungwoo kept petting the cat who seemed really comfortable.  
  
"She must like you a lot because she never lets anyone touch her while she sleeps, not even me"  
  
"Really? Well, she just kept rubbing her head in my hand when she came here"   
  
They stayed like that for a moment, just there. Jungwoo kept petting Sunhee and Jaehyun looked at him. It was just so calm and cozy that they didn't want to break the moment. But Jaehyun knew that they had already made Doyoung wait a lot, so he talked again even if he wanted to stay there for a while more.  
  
"We should go to eat or Doyoung-hyung will get mad" He got up from the bed where he sat when he entered the room.  
  
"Ah, right" Jungwoo sat on the bed and carefully got up trying not to wake the cat. Luckilly, Sunhee kept sleeping where she had been and Jungwoo and Jaehyun left the bedroom.  
  
They found Doyoung sitting at the table waiting for them. Jungwoo's mouth watered at the sight of food. He wasn't that bad cooking, but what Doyoung and Jaehyun had made looked delicious. He wasn't used to eat food like that. He wasn't even used to eat everyday, so he was really happy at the sight of the food.  
  
"Hey, Jungwoo. Are you feeling better?" Doyoung asked when Jungwoo sat down in front of him.  
  
"Yes, I'm better. I'm still a little tired but I'll be okay" He said, smiling to Doyoung.  
  
"Do you have anything to do this afternoon?" Jaehyun asked, sitting down too. He had a glass of water for himself. Jungwoo also wanted to drink water so Jaehyun poured another glass for him. Doyoung, on the other hand, was drinking some orange juice.  
  
"Not really" Jungwoo answered after drinking some water.  
  
"I'm free too. Why?" Doyoung asked.  
  
They had started eating and Jungwoo could feel like flying with how good the food tasted. He hadn't eaten something like that in years, years ago when his mother still cooked for him and his father didn't try to kill him almost everyday.  
  
"I thought we could stay here and watch some films together. It's Friday and the weather isn't that nice to go out" Jaehyun said.  
  
"Sure, if it isn't a bother to you" Doyoung answered. Jaehyun shook his head.  
  
"I'm alone here until Sunday so I would prefer if you stayed here with me. I would be less bored. What about you, Jungwoo?" Jaehyun and Doyoung looked at him. The small boy hadn't said anything since they had started eating.  
  
"The food is so good, hyung. You are such a good chefs" he said with his eyes shining, looking between Doyoung and Jaehyun. Both of them smiled.  
  
"Thanks for the compliment. Have you heard us at all?" Doyoung chuckled at the end of the question.  
  
"Ah, yes, sorry" Jungwoo blushed, embarrassed for being so distracted. But the food was just so good! "I'm okay with staying here and watching films. I don't have anything to do at home, anyways" he said that because it was true. All he did in his house was stay in his bedroom studying or doing his homework or take a nap. He couldn't even be free in his own house.  
  
"That's great! What do you want to see?" Jaehyun asked. He was smiling and his dimples were showing. He was just so happy for no reason. Well, there was a reason but he couldn't be so happy just because Jungwoo and Doyoung were staying with him. Nope, not at all.  
  
"I don't mind. I'm fine with anything" Doyoung said.  
  
"You choose, Jaehyun-hyung" Jungwoo said. That made Jaehyun smirk.   
  
"Well, then it will be a surprise" He said. Doyoung looked at him with questioning eyes, knowing that that smirk didn't mean anything good. Jungwoo kept eating, not noticing what was happening.  
  
They finished eating and cleaned everything. Jungwoo told them that he would do the dishes because he hadn't helped cooking. Doyoung, being the good hyung that he is, offered to help him but Jungwoo told him that it was fine.  
  
In the meantime, Sunhee had woken up and Jaehyun was giving her food. Doyoung started playing with the cat once the food was gone and Jaehyun took that as his opportunity to choose the film. He decided to watch a horror movie because he liked those. Doyoung and Jungwoo hadn't said anything about it so they would be fine.  
  
He decided to do some popcorn and he also got some drinks. Jungwoo had finished with the dishes and Doyoung had started talking with him.  
  
"Hyung, you even made popcorn?" Jungwoo's eyes shined a little. He hadn't eaten popcorn in a while.  
  
"Yup. Now, let's go. The film is ready" Jaehyun said, giving them their drinks.  
  
They sat in the couch. Jaehyun sat in the middle with the bowl of popcorn in his lap. Jungwoo sat at one of his sides with his legs crossed and Doyoung was at his other side with Sunhee on top of him.   
  
Jaehyun started the film.  
  
"You didn't told us what we are watching" Doyoung said.  
  
"It doesn't matter. It's just a movie that I've been wanting to watch for a while. Just enjoy it" Jaehyun smiled again. He wanted to scare those two.  
  
The film was nice in the beginning. It was about a family going to a new town. They seemed happy to be in their new house and everything was going well. That was until the night arrived. Then weird things started happening.  
  
Jaehyun was watching the movie, seeing how the weird things were happening around the poor family. He felt how Jungwoo got closer to him. He looked at him smiling. Jungwoo's eyes were still in the TV but he was starting to lean on Jaehyun more and more. Doyoung was also closer to him than he had been before.  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud scream in the film that made Jungwoo and Doyoung jump. Sunhee also jumped from Doyoung's lap, startled by the scream as well. Jungwoo hid his face in Jaehyun's shoulder, trying not to look at the screen. Jaehyun felt how he was shaking a little and he felt bad. Yes, he wanted to scare him but not to the point of him not even watching the movie. Doyoung seemed scared too, but not so much.  
  
"You okay?" Jaehyun asked Jungwoo who still hadn't looked up. He was hugging his arm. Jungwoo nodded but kept his face in Jaehyun's shoulder.  
  
"If you want, we can change the movie" He told him.  
  
"No, it's okay. I just don't like horror movies. I get startled easily" Jungwoo said still in Jaehyun's shoulder.  
  
"Okay, but if you get too scared tell me and we'll watch something else" Jungwoo nodded again.  
  
Jaehyun looked at Doyoung who was hiding his face behind a pillow that was in the couch. He giggled at the sight. Doyoung had started watching the movie relaxed and with Sunhee in his lap. Now, he had his legs on top of the couch and a pillow in front of him.  
  
"Hyung, are you getting scared?" He asked, teasing him.  
  
"Oh, shut up" He said and Jaehyun laughed.   
  
Jaehyun spent the whole movie teasing Doyoung, sometimes poking his side to scare him. Doyoung kept kicking him soflty whining and telling him to stop.  
  
When the movie ended, Doyoung sighed and threw the pillow at Jaehyun.  
  
"Finally. Can you stop scaring me now?" That made Jaehyun laugh.  
  
"I didn't think you got scared so easily" Jaehyun poked his side again making Doyoung jump.  
  
"And I didn't think you would be so annoying. I couldn't even eat popcorn because you kept tickling me!" He said pointing at the bowl of popcorn that was almost full.  
  
"Okay, okay sorry. But it was just so funny" Jaehyun laughed. Doyoung huffed and poked Jaehyun's side only to discover that he wasn't that ticklish.  
  
"Can we watch something else? It's still early and I would appreciate to have some fun now that that horrible movie ended" Doyoung said, eating some popcorn.  
  
"Sure, let me just what else we can watch" Jaehyun tried to get up but a weight in his shoulder didn't let him. He remembered that Jungwoo was still hugging his arm with his face in his shoulder. Jaehyun worried at first, thinking that he was still scared, but then he noticed that Jungwoo had fallen asleep on him.  
  
"Hyung, Jungwoo fell asleep. Again" He said smiling. Jungwoo was so scared before but it seemed like he was so tired that not even a horror movie would keep him up.  
  
"Aw, he's still tired. Let him sleep. I'll choose a movie" Doyoung got up. Jaehyun readjusted Jungwoo's position so that he would be more comfortable.  
  
Doyoung chose a comedy to watch next. He wouldn't let Jaehyun make him see another horror movie. Not on his watch.  
  
Jungwoo woke up at some point because of their laughter. He was sleepy but he watched the movie, not moving from his spot in Jaehyun's shoulder. The three of them laughed a lot, now more relaxed.  
  
When the film ended, they realised that it was now almost 7 PM and that the sky was now dark. Doyoung got up and turned on the lights, making all of them close their eyes, not used to the bright light.  
  
"I should go home. It's getting late" Doyoung said after stretching.  
  
"Yeah, me too. I can't get home too late" Jungwoo said, finally freeing Jaehyun.  
  
They cleaned everything and got their things. Doyoung tried to fix Jungwoo's hair with his hands but it was still messy. Doyoung chuckled a little making Jungwoo pout.   
  
"Don't laugh. I didn't even want to fall asleep" Jungwoo said.  
  
"I know, but it's just so cute" Doyoung smiled. Jungwoo blushed. He wasn't expecting that, even less from Doyoung.   
  
"We should get going. I can't be late" Jungwoo said, still flustered.  
  
"Okay, let me get my bag" Doyoung got his bag from where he had left it near the couch.  
  
Jaehyun came out from the kitchen and accompanied them to the door.  
  
"Be careful. It's almost night and there aren't many people in the streets" He said. "Text me when you get home, okay?"   
  
"Okay, mom. I'll text you and Doyoung-hyung too" Jungwoo giggled. Doyoung just rolled his eyes.  
  
"We'll be okay. I'll let Jungwoo at his house before I go home" Doyoung said.  
  
"That's better" Jaehyun smiled. He wanted to be sure that both of them arrived safely.  
  
"You don't have to do that. I can go alone" Jungwoo said. He didn't want Doyoung to see his house. What if he decided to go to his house and he met his parents? Nope, he couldn't let that happen.  
  
"Oh, yes, I'm not letting you go alone. It's too late" Doyoun said.  
  
They said goodbye to Jaehyun and left the house. Jungwoo was nervous. He knew that he couldn't make Doyoung let him go alone. The older boy was stubborn and Jungwoo didn't want to make him suspect that something was wrong with him and his parents.  
  
They talked on their way. Their houses weren't that far and they were walking quickly so they were almost at Jungwoo's house.  
  
Doyoung had had an incredible afternoon. He didn't know why, but he felt so at ease with Jaehyun and Jungwoo. He was really happy. He also was glad that he could make sure that Jungwoo arrived safely at his house. He didn't want to let Jungwoo go alone, not when he had been so tired this morning and with everything that had happened. Maybe it was because of what had happened, but he felt really protective of Jungwoo now. He hadn't like seeing him so distressed and exhausted so he wanted to make sure that Jungwoo was safe and comfortable if he could help it.  
  
"This is my house" Jungwoo said, stopping walking. Doyoung also stopped. "Thanks for coming with me" he smiled.  
  
"It's nothing. Get some sleep tonight, okay? You need it. And text Jaehyun, he must be waiting for that" Doyoung chuckled.  
  
"Of course, of course" Jungwoo also chuckled.   
  
"I should get going. See you on Monday, okay?" Doyoung asked. He wouldn't be able to hang out with him because he had some exams and he had to study if he didn't want to fail.  
  
"Okay. Get home safely and goodnight" Jungwoo waved at him.  
  
Doyoung waved back. "Goodnight"  


* * *

  
  
Jungwoo waited until Doyoung was out of his view to got to the door of his house. He usually got home at 6 PM because his parents were usually working at this hour but it was now 7:20 PM and they would be home by now.  
  
He gulped and opened the door as quietly as he could. He entered and saw no one. He felt relieved for a moment and closed the door. He went upstairs trying not to make a sound. He had been lucky.  
  
Or so he thought. Once he was about to enter his room, he saw his father and his mother looking at him. At that moment, Jungwoo knew he was screwed.  
  
He tried to run downstairs. He could go to Ten's house, he would understand. But before he could even get to the stairs, his father grabbed him by his hair and threw him to the wall. Jungwoo felt air leaving his lungs when he fell to the ground.  
  
"You stupid asshole think you can go out and come at this hour" His father said and then he punched him in the face. Jungwoo whimpered. His father wasn't worried about him, he was just angry that Jungwoo had been out having fun instead of going home. When Jungwoo got home on time, he could avoid this and still spend the afternoon out, but today he hadn't been careful enough.  
  
His mother also got near him. She grabbed his face, scratching him where his father had just punched making Jungwoo flinch.  
  
"You stupid rat, in this house, your father and I have the control, do you understand? You can't leave this house unless you have to go to school" She slapped him and grabbed him by his hair again, making him look up at them. "You are just a failure, a mistake and we don't want people looking at you too much or they would get scared by your ugly face" She said and let him go. Jungwoo slumped against the wall, watching her leave.  
  
His father, on the other hand, wasn't finished. He kicked him in his legs and his arms to the point of making Jungwoo fall to the ground. Jungwoo didn't know how much time passed, he kept feeling the kicks in his body making everything so blurry and confusing. He tried to curl on himself, but it still hurt. Finally, his father got tired and stopped kicking.  
  
"I hate you so much, you bastard" he said and went downstairs, stomping on his hand before going. Jungwoo thought that he had broke his hand, but when he tried to move it, he could.   
  
He stayed on the floor trying to breathe properly. He knew that he should get up and go to his bedroom just in case they decided to come back, but he just couldn't move at the moment. Everything around him was swaying and looked blurry. Everything hurt so much. He could feel his face burning. That would probably get purple. His arms and his legs were also burning from all the kicks. His stomach hurt even more and his back was also hurting. He could feel his hand swelling by the moment, making it even more painful to move.  
  
After a few minutes, Jungwoo got up from the ground and entered his room. He locked the door and fell on the bed. He kept breathing hard, trying to ease the pain in some way.  
  
He heard a little ping coming from his phone that was in his bag. He got it and unlocked it. He saw that Ten had texted him asking if he was okay and a few messages from their groupchat.   
  
And then, he saw Jaehyun's text.  
  
**From: Jaehyun-hyung**  
** 'Did you get home safely? Are you okay?' **  
  
** To: Jaehyun-hyung**  
** 'Yes, I'm home. I'm okay'**


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungwoo spends his weekend more relaxed than he thought. He also loves Ten a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will show more of the story of Ten and Jungwoo and how they met. Not many things happen in this chapter, but future chapter will get more interesting.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter and if you like it leave a comment ^^

Jungwoo didn't sleep that night. Everything just hurt so much. He didn't even eat anything. He couldn't take the risk of going to the kitchen to get some food in case his parents were still around.  
  
He stayed all night long lying in his bed trying to find a position to fall asleep. But, with how damaged his body was, he wasn't able to breath without hurting, even less fall asleep.  
  
On Saturday, he stayed all day in his bed. He couldn't really move that much. The pain in his stomach and back didn't let him move freely and his arms and legs were killing him. He couldn't see his face, but he could feel the bruise that had formed there. His hand was now red almost purple colour. He couldn't really move it that much but at least it wasn't broken.  
  
Jungwoo didn't even have any kind of painkillers to stop the pain, but he had Ten's ointment at least.   
  
He sat up on the bed slowly, wincing with every little movement. Then, he got up and walked to his desk to grab the ointment. Once he got it, he sat on his bed again.  
  
He started applying it on his face carefully. After that, he took off his t-shirt, feeling gross for not having a shower that morning, and then he applied it to his bruised tummy and his arms. He also took off his pants and repeated the process in his legs. Once he had finished covering everything, he put on a clean, old t-shirt. It was really big on him so he always used it to sleep. He decided not to put on any pants to be more comfortable. He took some more ointment and covered his left hand with it.  
  
He felt exhausted after putting the ointment back at his desk. The lack of sleep and food was taking a toll on him, even more with his entire body covered in red and purple bruises.  
  
He laid down in his bed again, pulling the covers over himself, and tried to sleep. He fidgeted for a while, but he couldn't fall asleep. He could feel tears of frustration almost escaping his eyes, but he contained them. He didn't want to cry, knowing that it would make his head hurt a lot.  
  
He decided to try to text Ten. He hadn't answered last night and he would be worried for him. He got his phone from his desk and lied down on the bed again.  
  
**From: Tennie**  
** Woo, are you okay? **  
** Jaehyun and Doyoung told me that you had a panic attack**  
** Hey, answer me boo**  
** Jungwoo, answer please**  
** Jungwoo**  
  
Ten had been texting until really late last night and he had even texted him that morning but Jungwoo couldn't even answer him before.  
  
**To: Tennie**  
** I'm sorry, I'm okay, more or less**  
** Yesterday, Jaehyun-hyung and Doyoung-hyung helped me calm down and then we went to Jaehyun-hyung's house. I slept for a while and then we ate together**  
** We also watches some movies**  
** I had a lot of fun**  
  
Jungwoo smiled a little remembering last day's events. Everything had gone so good until he had to come back to his house. It was funny that a place that most of people considered to be the safest place for them was the one that Jungwoo hated the most, that made him feel like a prisioner.  
  
Ten texted back almost immediately.  
  
**From: Tennie**  
** That's good!!**  
** They took care of you and you had a good time**  
** So, do you trust them now? I know that you don't trust people that easily**  
  
** To: Tennie**  
** I think I can trust them**  
** But I can't just tell them about my parents **  
** Not yet, at least**  
  
** From: Tennie**  
** I know, that's a big thing**  
** But now you know that you are not alone**  
** I mean, you've always had me but now, you have even more people**  
** Not that I'm not enough**  
** I'm actually all you need**  
  
Jungwoo smiled at his best friend's antics.  
  
**To: Tennie**  
** Yes, yes, I know**  
** But something happened when I came back home**  
  
** From: Tennie**  
** Don't tell me that your parents were around again**  
  
** To: Tennie **  
** Unfortunately, yes**  
** I arrived a little late and they got me before I could even get to my bedroom**  
** Now, I have bruises everywhere including my face and my left hand is purple**  
  
**From: Tennie **  
** Holy shit**  
** Woo, that's not good**  
** Are you still in your bedroom??**  
** Have you eaten anything??**  
** Fuck, come to my house**  
** I'll let you sleep here tonight **  
  
** To: Tennie **  
** I'm sorry but I don't think I can go to your house**  
** My parents are here today, I can hear them**  
** And if they see me leaving the house, maybe I won't be able to enter ever again**  
** Don't worry, I used your ointment and I'm trying to sleep**  
  
**From: Tennie **  
** That's so fucked up**  
** Jungwoo you can't just stay there without anything to eat**  
** You should take some painkillers**  
** You must be hurting a lot**  
  
** To: Tennie **  
** Well, yes**  
** But I really can't leave my bedroom today**  
** I think I'll just pass out once I get past the door**  
  
** From: Tennie **  
** And what did you say about trying to sleep??**  
** Go to sleep!!**  
  
**To: Tennie**  
** I'm trying**  
** And I can't**  
** I don't even know what to do**  
  
** From: Tennie**  
** Wait**  
  
Jungwoo's phone startes vibrating in his hand, Ten was calling him. He picked up.  
  
"Hey, sweetie" Ten's voice was sweet and calming. Jungwoo giggled a little, immediately regretting it when he felt pain through his stomach.  
  
"Hi, Tennie" Jungwoo's voice sounded hoarse and weak making Jungwoo wince.  
  
"Oh, you don't sound good at all" Ten said.  
  
"I know, thanks for the compliment" He answered.  
  
"Now, you are trying to sleep, right?" Ten asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
"Yes, but I can't and I'm so tired, Ten" His voice trembled a little, from frustration, from tiredness.  
  
"I know, baby, I know. I'll try to help, okay?" Ten said. Jungwoo knew that Ten would do anything to be by his side right now, but he understood the circumstances.  
  
"Like always?" Jungwoo asked. Ten could feel how tired he was just by hearing him.  
  
"Like always" Ten reassured him.  
  
Ten talked to him with a soft voice. He talked about whatever thing he could think of, school, dancing, the weather, some gossips, anything. He talked quietly and calmly, making Jungwoo feel sleepy and more relaxed than before. Jungwoo tried to answer now and then, but after a while he just listened to his best friend talking.  
  
Ten had been doing this since he knew that Jungwoo had troubles to sleep. Jungwoo couldn't count the nights Ten had stayed talking with him until 4 AM just so Jungwoo could fall asleep. It worked most of the time. Whenever it didn't worked, Jungwoo was just too restless or he was really worried about something.  
  
But today, Jungwoo was tired even before Ten's call, so, in a few minutes, he fell asleep listening to Ten's voice.  
  
Ten, after hearing the soft even breaths on the other side, smiled, knowing that he could help Jungwoo with that at least.  
  
"Rest well, Woo" He said softly and ended the call.  


* * *

  
  
Jungwoo woke up feeling a hand in his hair. It felt really nice and he just wanted to lay there with his eyes still closed, letting the gentle caresses on his hair lull him back to sleep.  
  
Then, he remembered that he was in his bedroom and that he had locked the door, so he should be alone. He immediately opened his eyes, scared. He looked up and saw Ten sitting by his side, his hand still in his hair.  
  
"Tennie, you scared me" Jungwoo whispered to his best friend. He had just woken up and he had gotten startled but even then he knew that he couldn't be too loud. His parents could hear him and notice that he wasn't alone and he didn't think that would have a good ending.  
  
"Sorry, Woo. I just got here" Ten said and Jungwoo just plopped back on the bed. He got closer to Ten who let him lay his head in his tigh, still brushing his hair.  
  
"What time is it?" Jungwoo asked. His throat hurt and he was thirsty.  
  
"Almost 12 AM" Jungwoo was surprised.  
  
"I fell asleep at 11 PM more or less. I have been sleeping for that long?" He asked more to himself.  
  
"Well, you usually don't even sleep 3 hours in a night so I think you needed it. And even if you slept for that long, you still look tired" Ten was worried. Jungwoo looked exhausted. He was pale and the bags under his eyes were a dark shade of purple.   
  
"Don't worry, I think that I actually did pretty good. I mean, I got the sleep I would get in three or four nights. I'm proud of myself" Jungwoo chuckled and Ten giggled too.  
  
"Okay, so now that you are awake, do you want to eat something? I brought you some food and water" Ten said and showed Jungwoo a plastic bag full of food.  
  
"Ten, you are the best" Jungwoo said while hugging Ten's legs.  
  
"I know. I know that you wouldn't have gone to get food down in the kitchen and I couldn't let you starve for 2 days. Now, eat something. I even brought you some chocolate" He said while helping Jungwoo sit up. He gasped once he saw Jungwoo's face. "He did that to you?" Ten whispered, cupping Jungwoo's cheek with his hand carefully.  
  
"Yes. Does it look that bad?" Jungwoo answered even if he already knew the answer.  
  
"I mean, it is there. You will have to think of something to tell the guys. That is one hell of a bruise" That made Jungwoo smile.  
  
Ten also looked at his hand, that was now twice as big as it usually was.   
  
After that, Ten gave Jungwoo a water bottle, making him drink half of it. Jungwoo hadn't eaten anything since he had been with Jaehyun and Doyoung and he ate some popcorn while watching movies, so he was very thirsty and hungry by now.  
  
Ten gave him sandwiches and some snacks, not the most healthy or nutritive meal, but it was enough.  
  
Both of them talked whispering while Jungwoo ate the things Ten had brought for him. Ten always did that whenever Jungwoo was in situations like these. Those, unfortunately, happened pretty often. He used a little folding ladder to enter his bedroom that was at the side of the house. He always went to see him when his parents were asleep so they had to be very careful to be silent.  
  
Jungwoo couldn't thank him enough for everything he had done for him. Ten had been taking care of him almost since they had met. When Jungwoo was 10 years old, Ten arrived to the house in front of his. Both of them met when they were going to school and Jungwoo's mother didn't even bother in driving him there. Ten also had to walk and they were on the same school so they became friends in no time.  
  
Jungwoo was really naïve back then and whenever Ten asked what had happened to him when he saw a new bruise in Jungwoo's body, he simply answered that his parents had punished him. It could have caused troubles if it had been any other person, but it was Ten. He knew that parents weren't supposed to be so harmful towards their children so he instantly felt alarmed and scared for Jungwoo.  
  
Jungwoo, on the other hand, saw it as something normal, something that every parent did to their son or daughter. Ten felt even more scared at that. He decided to tell his mother about it, but then Jungwoo told him not to tell his mother. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to trouble his parents.  
  
He convinced Ten that he was okay and that it wasn't that bad and Ten, even if he didn't believe him, decided to keep his secret. Instead, he also decided to take care of Jungwoo, always inviting him to eat at his house and even sleep there some nights.  
  
Ten didn't know why, but Jungwoo's parents always said yes to him whenever he asked if Jungwoo could stay at his house. Well, that was when he was younger. Now, he suspected that it was because it was less trouble for them. They had to make Jungwoo food but when he was at Ten's house, they didn't have to do that or deal with the child.  
  
When both of them became older, they understood that if they said anything, Jungwoo's parents would probably go to the jail and Jungwoo would be sent to live with a foster family. That meant that Jungwoo and Ten wouldn't be together and that scared both of them.  
  
So, their plan was to wait until Jungwoo was 18 and then, he would go to live with Ten so they would be together. Jungwoo insisted on doing that whenever Ten told him that it would be hard and painful for him, but Jungwoo was stubborn.  
  
It wasn't as simple as they had thought. Jungwoo's parents became worse as time passed. They were more agressive to Jungwoo, always hurting him whenever they could and without a reason. The beatings became more usual and painful, and Jungwoo's mental and physical health was affected by them.  
  
Before, he was a bright and playful child, always curious of everything and Ten loved it. Now, he was more shy, more careful around people. The bullying he had started receiving at school didn't help either. They said he was poor, that he always had old things and that he shouldn't even be there.   
  
Ten tried to protect him as much as he could, but he wasn't in his class and he couldn't do much at Jungwoo's house either. So he was there for him after everything had happened. He knew that he couldn't stop everything, but he could be there for Jungwoo when he had to recover and get back up. He was there to comfort him, to let him cry in his shoulder until he fell asleep. He was there for him to bring him food when his parents wouldn't let him eat. He was there for when he needed him.  
  
Jungwoo was also there for Ten whenever he had troubles too, even if those weren't that common. Jungwoo was there when Ten was afraid to tell his parents that he was gay, which turned really well because his parents had supported him since day one. He was also there when Ten's first boyfriend cheated on him, making him laugh telling him that he would kick him for Ten. He was there when he had troubles with some people at school, always trying to comfort him.   
  
Hell, Jungwoo was the first person that knew that Ten was gay. He had told him first, knowing that his best friend, his Jungwoo, wouldn't ever judge him. That day, Jungwoo also told him that he was gay too, making them cry and laugh for the rest of the day, relieved that they were now free of that secret, making them closer than before.  
  
So yes, Ten and Jungwoo were best friends. They were there for eachother. Always. They knew that they couldn't fix everything by themselves, but they tried to make eachother's life as easy as they could, at least until both of them were old enough to go awah from Jungwoo's abusive parents and live withour worrying about them.  
  
Ten had to leave when it was getting too late. They didn't have classes the next day, but they had to sleep and Ten really had to get to his house before his parents noticed that he wasn't there. Ten's father always got up early in Sundays so he had to go back before his father was up.  
  
He helped Jungwoo apply the ointment again, frowning when he saw his bruises. After that, he hugged Jungwoo again and tucked him, telling him to go back to sleep.  
  
Jungwoo watched as Ten left the bedroom through the window and he also heard him getting the folding ladder and taking it to his house.  
  
Jungwoo sighed and looked at the hour. 5 AM. They had been talking for a while. Jungwoo was always happy to be with Ten. They could always talk for hours or just stay in a comfortable silence, relaxing together.  
  
The brunet closed his eyes again, now sleepy after eating what Ten had brought him. He had brought enough food and water for the next day as well, which made Jungwoo relieved because his parents didn't work on Sundays and he wouldn't be able to go to the kitchen to eat.  
  
On week days, his parents worked until later in the afternoon and he could go to the kitchen to grab some food for the rest of the day. On Fridays, he would try to make something for himself that lasted the entire weekend.  
  
But that week, he hadn't been able to do so. He had been late and he couldn't get any food or even escape from his parents. But at least, he had Ten, who was so nice and kind.  
  
Jungwoo fell asleep again, still tired even after sleeping for so long.  


* * *

  
  
Jungwoo spent his Sunday doing his homework and studying for a while. He didn't have many exams yet, but he had nothing else to do. Ten couldn't go to his house because he had to do a project with Doyoung and Kun, so he was alone. Well, not really, but he couldn't exactly tell any of his new friends to visit him through the window when his parents were asleep.  
  
He spent his day like that, not very eventful, but at least he could relax.   
  
He ate the food that Ten brought him the night before, so he didn't have any problem with the food.   
  
But, he had to shower. He felt so gross. He really didn't want to take the risk of bumping into his father or his mother, so he waited until both of them had showered. Jungwoo was lucky because he was just in front of the bathroom and he could hear when one of his parents was showering.  
  
He waited until the afternoon and then, he showered as quickly as he could, going back to his room with a towel wrapped around himself. Jungwoo just put on his pajamas, relieved that nothing had happened.  
  
He ate the last bit of Ten's food and went to bed. He didn't have anything else to do and he had been lucky these past few days to sleep longer than usual, so he thought he should try again that night.  
  
He thought about the afternoon he spent with Doyoung and Jaehyun. He always tried to think about happy things to go to sleep. He had had so much fun. It was weird because he didn't expect to have such a good time. It always took some time for him to open to people and genuinely enjoy his time with those people, but with Jaehyun and Doyoung, it had been very easy.  
  
He fell asleep thinking about Jaehyun and Doyoung's laugh echoing on his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monday arrives and Jungwoo is feeling better than tte past few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :D here is a calm chapter compared to the others xD
> 
> My classes will start tomorrow and I don't know how often I'll be able to post new chapters from now on.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy it and leave Kudos and Comments if you like it :)

Monday arrived earlier than Jungwoo had thought. He was better from his injuries, but his face still had an ugly blue colour on its left side and his hand still hurt.  
  
That morning, Jungwoo got up a little earlier than usual because he felt more energetic and he also wanted to get out of his house as soon as possible.  
  
He had been there during the entire weekend and he was used to it, but that weekend had felt longer for him. Maybe because he had been in pain and alone or maybe because he actually wanted to go to school and see his friends.  
  
Jungwoo didn't think much about it. He just showered and dressed comfortably after using Ten's ointment again. He frowned when he saw the bruise on his face. It was very visible but he couldn't do anything about it. His mother had some make-up but if she found out that he had used it, Jungwoo would probably be found dead.  
  
He got his bag and left his house without any encounter with his parents. He was walking to Ten's house and found him waiting for him already. Once he saw him, Jungwoo ran to Ten, who had his arms opened for him. They hugged eachother tightly for some minutes. It wasn't strange for them not to see eachother during the weekend but Ten had been worried for Jungwoo and Jungwoo just missed his best friend.  
  
They separated and entered the house. Jungwoo and Ten ate some breakfast and then, they walked calmly to their highschool.  
  
"And, what are you going to tell the others when they see that?" Ten asked Jungwoo, pointing at the bruise on his face.  
  
"I'll just tell them that I fell and hit my face. Everybody believes that everytime I say it. Am I so clumsy or do people really believe that I go falling to the ground every two days?" Jungwoo joked. He was in a good mood. Maybe there were some bruises in places he didn't want, but he felt well-rested for the first time in a while and that was because he had been sleeping more than usually for the past few days.  
  
"Let me tell you, you are pretty clumsy, but I think people just don't mind it that much" Ten said. He didn't like how people treated Jungwoo, but those people didn't even know Jungwoo and they didn't know what they were missing out.  
  
"I'll just go with that this time. If this happens again, I'll have to think of something else"   
  
They finally arrived at their highschool. There, in the gates, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Johnny and Doyoung were already waiting for the rest. Since the last week, they usually met in the gates until everyone was there and then, they would go to their own classes.  
  
"Good morning" Ten said to the other boys.  
  
"Good morning" Jungwoo also said.  
  
They all turned to look at them.  
  
"Good mor- Jungwoo, what happened to your face?" Taeyong got near Jungwoo and cupped his face carefully. That made the rest of them look at him, too.  
  
"I fell from my bed last night and I hit my face with the nighstand" Jungwoo said, a little flustered for having Taeyong so close to him.  
  
"It must have hurt a lot" Doyoung said by his side.  
  
"It hurt a little, but I'm okay!" Jungwoo said smiling.  
  
"I'm happy to hear that then" Doyoung smiled at him fondly.  
  
Taeyong just ruffled his hair when he let go of his face.  
  
"Aish, be more careful, okay?" He said ans smiled at him.  
  
"Okay" Jungwoo pouted.  
  
"You seem more energetic, did you sleep a lot on this weekend?" Jaehyun asked. He had noticed that the bags under his eyes were mostly gone.  
  
"Yes, I slept a lot and I'm not tired" Jungwoo smiled brightly.  
  
The rest of the boys except for Ten were a little surprised. They hadn't seen Jungwoo that happy in the time they had known eachother. There he was, smiling at them after joking and pouting at 8 AM. Even with the blue bruise in his cheek, he still looked so bright.  
  
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jungwoo asked, with a cute frown in his face.  
  
"Oh, nothing. You just look happy and that makes us happy" Johnny said smiling and everyone stopped looking at Jungwoo's face.  
  
"Oh, what happened to your hand?" Doyoung noticed that Jungwoo's left hand also looked purple.  
  
"I landed on top of it when I fell from the bed. But it's okay, I can still write and all" Jungwoo said as if it hadn't been hurting like hell.  
  
"Are you sure that it's okay? I can go to see the nurse with you. Maybe she can do something about it" Doyoung said, worried for the younger boy.  
  
"No, it's really okay. I have already used an ointment to make it better" Jungwoo smiled again.   
  
"Alright, but if it hurts just tell me and we'll go, okay?" Doyoung asked and Jungwoo nodded.  
  
"Okaay~"  
  
They all talked for a while, waiting for the rest of their friends to arrive. When they arrived one by one, Jungwoo had to explain to each of them how he "had fallen" and got those bruises. So far, none of them suspected anything so Jungwoo was relieved. Well, Ten knew, but he wouldn't tell them.  
  
They went to their classes when they heard the bell. Jungwoo went with Yuta and Johnny, talking about dancing. Yuta had suggested Jungwoo to go with him and Taeyong to dance sometime. He had also told him that Ten had told them that Jungwoo liked dancing with him, so they wanted to spend some time together dancing. Jungwoo, happier than the days before, accepted the offer.  
  
It seemed like that day, Jungwoo's classmates didn't want to do anything to him. They didn't bother him before entering their class and even inside of it, they didn't bother him that much. Just a few insults here and there but nothing physical. Maybe it was because they saw the big bruise in Jungwoo's face, but he didn't think it was because of that.  
  
Either way, Jungwoo was having a good day. His English teacher told them their grades of the last test and Jungwoo got a very good one. He had also managed to ignore his left hand for the most part of the day so it didn't bother him that much.  
  
When lunch time arrived, he waited for a bit before he got up from his seat, waiting until almost everyone had left the classroom.  
  
He arrived at the table where his friends were sitting in, taking the place between Kun and Ten.  
  
He had gotten more comfortable around them and now, unlike before, he talked with them instead of just listening. Today, he was really excited and it was showing.   
  
He kept laughing and smiling, always answering the others while they were talking. Taeyong gave him some fruit which he gladly accepted. He had gotten used to it at this point. Taeyong had been bringing him food for lunch since they met. At first, Taeyong said that he had brought too much or that he was full and he didn't want to throw the food away. Now, he just gave Jungwoo the food without even listening to whatever he would say. Jungwoo tried to make Taeyong stop bringing him food, but Taeyong just ignored him and gave him the food.  
  
It seemed like Jungwoo being in a good mood was making everyone happier because that day, laughter filled the cafeteria because of them.  
  
Once the bell rang again, they got up from their seats, a little sad now that their lunch had ended. Jungwoo immediately went with Jaehyun and Doyoung because he knew that they had their classes near eachother. He kept bouncing a little in his place, practically buzzing with energy. It also felt like good vibes were radiating from him, making Doyoung and Jaehyun look at him fondly but also with some confusion in their eyes.  
  
"Yes, that's actually how Jungwoo is when he is almost at his 100%. Very different from how he usually is, right?" Ten told them, giggling.  
  
"Very different" Jaehyun told him, still looking at Jungwoo who was now talking with Sicheng and Taeil.  
  
"I wish we could see him like that more often" Doyoung said, more to himself.  
  
"I know. But things are... hard. He is a lot better than he was before. I think meeting you guys had made him happy" Ten looked sadly at his friend. He couldn't tell the others about what Jungwoo was going through. He wish he could so Jungwoo would have more people to rely on, but he couldn't just tell them without Jungwoo's consent. It wasn't his story to tell. Sadly, even if he told them, they wouldn't be able to do anything to make the abuse stop. They just had to wait until Jungwoo's 18th birthday arrived and then, his hell could end.  
  
Doyoung looked at Ten after he said that. He remembered the conversation he had with Jaehyun the other day and looked at him, only to find him already looking back. It seemed like their suspicions were right, judging by Ten's words. There was something more going on in Jungwoo's life that they didn't know about. Something that escaped their eyes and that was causing him a big pain. They would have to talk about it later.  
  
"Hyungs, we should get going" Jungwoo said, making Jaehyun and Doyoung break their eye contact and Ten snap out of his thoughts.  
  
"Yeah, we shouldn't arrive late" Jaehyun said and smiled to Jungwoo, who smiled back.  
  
Even if Jungwoo was happier than they had ever seen him be before, Jaehyun and Doyoung walked with him to their classrooms with heavy hearts.  


* * *

  
  
After their classes ended, Jungwoo went back to his house with Ten, Kun, Doyoung and Jaehyun feeling really happy. He had decided to spend the afternoon at Ten's house and Doyoung, Jaehyun and Kun would join them.  
  
They ate something at Ten's house before playing some games. After a few rounds of Uno that got pretty intense thanks to Ten and Doyoung's competitiveness, they talked for a while.  
  
"So, do you guys have any crushes? A girlfriend? A boyfriend?" Ten asked after sipping from his tea. Yes, they were all drinking tea after almost killing eachother by playing Uno.  
  
"None of the above. I'm not that interested in that stuff right now" Kun said.   
  
"Same for me. I don't think I'm ready to be in a serious relationship" Doyoung said, looking around.  
  
"I'm not ready either. I'm still young" Jungwoo said.  
  
"Are you calling us old?" Kun asked.  
  
"Maybe" Jungwoo said and sipped his tea. The rest of them laughed at Kun's face. He had his eyes opened and his mouth as well. He hadn't expected Jungwoo to actually tease him.  
  
"What about you, Jaehyun?" Ten asked.  
  
"I don't believe in love" He said grinning.  
  
"Really?" Ten asked, surprised at that answer.  
  
"Yup. I don't think I'll ever fall in love. I mean, I don't even think people who are in relationships are really in love. Most of them end up breaking up or cheating on eachother" He said.  
  
"Well, if that's what you think. I think that a lot of people start dating just so they can say that they are dating. It's true that not every couple is really in love, but there should be some of them that are" Kun said.  
  
"If you say so" Jaehyun shrugged.  
  
Jungwoo didn't know why, but Jaehyun's words hurt him a little. He felt sad for the first time in that day and only because Jaehyun said that he wouldn't be falling in love.  
  
Doyoung had also become silent after Jaehyun talked. Why did he felt a pang on his chest after Jaehyun said that? It was weird for him because he didn't know the reason for that feeling.   
  
The rest of them continued talking, leaving Jungwoo and Doyoung drowning in their thoughts. After a while, Ten suggested watching a movie before they had to go, to which everyone agreed.  
  
During the movie, Doyoung and Jungwoo thought again about the things Jaehyun had said. Both of them felt strange, they were sad after Jaehyun said that. They couldn't really concentrate on the movie and, when it ended, they tried to avoid talking about it because they didn't even know what it was about.  
  
When all of them had to leave, Jaehyun waved at them and left with Kun and Doyoung. Jungwoo helped Ten cleaning the living room and then he went to his house. It was 6:30 PM and his parents finished working at 7 PM so he had some time to get something to eat before locking himself in his room.  
  
Jungwoo went to his house and got some fruits and prepared a salad with some vegetables that were in the fridge. Then, he grabbed an empty bottle and filled it with water. He went upstairs at 6:50 PM and locked his door for the rest of the night.  
  
He ate while watching some videos in his phone, using his headphones once he heard his parents arrive. His father came to knock on his door loudly, startling Jungwoo. He didn't make a sound, afraid that the knocking would continue until the door wasn't between him and his father anymore. After some minutes, Jungwoo heard steps going away from his door and he could finally breath again.  
  
He finished his dinner and got ready to go to sleep. Luckily for him, no more sounds were coming from outside his door, so he changed into some comfortable clothes before getting into his bed.  
  
He had done his homework and he didn't have any exams that week so he was more relaxed than usual. That helped him falling asleep but the words that Jaehyun had said echoed in his mind before finally falling asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He shouldn't have showeres with cold water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :D okay, so I know that I took forever to post this but this past month has been hell xD I started college (yay!) And I'm very busy now, so don't expect the chapters to come very soon ;-; I'm so sorry for that but I'll try my best, I promise :')
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter after a long time :D

A few days had passed since that Monday. It was Friday that day and Jungwoo had had a good week so far.  
  
He hadn't had any more encounters with his parents after the last one. He had been very careful to avoid them inside the house and also leaving as quietly as possible so they didn't know at what time he went out.  
  
The bruises were almost gone by now. His face was a lot better than before and his hand almost didn't hurt by then. His stomach, arms and legs were still a little sore and some marks from the hits he had received were still there, but it was a lot better than before.  
  
His classmates had also been more decent. They hadn't hit him or try to throw him to the ground. Jungwoo's hyungs were mostly always there with him and the bullies seemed to know that Jungwoo wasn't alone anymore. He had a lot of people who protected him and he was really thankful for that.  
  
They were really protective of him, especially Sicheng and Jaehyun who were always glaring at the other kids when they tried to approach Jungwoo. Johnny was also very intimidating and Taeil and Kun, even if they were the nicest and most patient people that Jungwoo had ever met, could also be terrifying. Ten alone was also scary, he had always been. And when Doyoung and Taeyong teamed up, it was to be feared. Yuta, the happy virus Yuta, practically turned into a demon when one of those kids tried to lay a hand on Jungwoo in front of him. So yes, Jungwoo was being protected.  
  
By now, he knew that he could probably trust all of them, that they wouldn't betray him and hurt him. But he also didn't want to tell them about his parents. What if they started to treat him differently? What if they got hurt because of it? What if he lost them? Jungwoo didn't want to risk that, so he decided to stay silent.  
  
He got up from the bed once he heard his alarm. He had been awake for a while before he heard his alarm, but he had been sleeping a little better than before. However, those past few nights he had been very cold once he tried to fall asleep. He eventually fell asleep, but he always woke up shivering. He also woke up in the middle of the night, coughing and gasping for air. He hated that.  
  
Jungwoo got some clothes to wear and went to the shower. He was a little dizzy and he almost fell once he stood up, but he could recover in time.  
  
He opened the door trying to be as silent as possible, looking before getting out and closing his bedroom door again.  
  
He closed the bathroom's door and looked at the mirror, seeing his reflection. He was pale. Well, he had always been, but now he looked as white as the wall behind him. His cheeks, on the other hand, were flushed a bright red even though he was really cold. His eyebags were still there, not as prominent as before, but there. His hair was messy but he knew the water from the shower would fix that.  
  
He entered the shower and found out that he had to use cold water again. He had been showering with cold water everyday since winter began and it seemed like it was taking a toll on him. He shivered when the ice-cold water touched his skin.  
  
Jungwoo showered as fast as he could and then he dried himself and put on his clothes. Even after covering himself with the warmest hoodie he had, he was still feeling the cold that he had been feeling since he woke up. And now, after the shower, he couldn't stop shivering.   
  
He went to his room to get his bag and left his house carefully. He went to Ten's house and found him and his mother having breakfast. Ten's mother made him sit down and served him a plate with a toast and some fruit. They talked while eating and Jungwoo started coughing sometimes.  
  
"Jungwoo, honey, are you feeling well?" Ten's mother asked.  
  
"Yes, why?" He asked.  
  
"You just look pale and those coughs sound bad. Do you want some medicine?" She asked almost standing up, but Jungwoo stopped her before she could get up.  
  
"I'm okay. I think my throat is a little irritated by the cold, but it's okay. I don't need medicine" He said smiling to her. Ten's mother had always treated him like his own son and Jungwoo loved her for that, but he didn't want to cause the woman more trouble.   
  
"If you say so. But if you want anything, just tell me, okay?"   
  
"Of course"  
  
After that, they finished their breakfast and Jungwoo and Ten left the house, walking to their highschool. Once they were out of the house, Ten grabbed Jungwoo's arm, making him stop walking, and put a hand in his forehead.  
  
"What are you doing?" Jungwoo asked confused.  
  
"I'm checking your temperature. I think you have a fever" Ten said, worry clear in his eyes.  
  
"What? No! I'm okay. I was just a little cold but that's it" Jungwoo said and continued walking.  
  
"Jungwoo, you are sick. You can't go to school like that, you'll end up getting worse. Do you want to go back to my house so you can rest?" Ten asked.  
  
"Ten, I told you that I'm okay. Let's go, we're going to be late" Jungwoo walked fast leaving Ten behind him. Ten just sighed, knowing how stubborn his best friend was, and rushed to catch him.  
  
The rest of the walk, they were silent and finally, they arrived at the school gates were the rest of their friends were waiting for them.   
  
They were received with a lot of 'hi' and 'good morning' and then, they walked to their classrooms because it was a little later than usual.   
  
That day, Jungwoo went with Kun and Doyoung. Ten had a different class so he had to go with Johnny and Yuta.  
  
While they were walking to their class, Jungwoo, Doyoung and Kun talked about what they had done the day before. Jungwoo kept coughing and, after a few times, Kun asked him about it.  
  
"Are you okay, Jungwoo? You keep coughing" He asked, concerned for the younger's health.  
  
"Yes, I'm just a little cold, that's all" Jungwoo tried to smile, but neither Doyoung nor Kun believed him.  
  
"Are you sure?" Doyoung asked. He didn't want to push tge younger but he honestly looked sick with how pale he was.  
  
"Yes, hyung. I'm sure. I know when I'm sick, so please, stop looking at me like that" Jungwoo rolled his eyes and continued talking. Kun and Doyoung looked at each other surprised. They hadn't been expecting that behaviour from Jungwoo.  
  
Jungwoo continued walking to his classroom, now feeling guilty because of how he had talked to Kun and Doyoung. He wasn't used to have a lot of people worrying about him, so he didn't know how to react.  
  
The door of his classroom was opened by the teacher and he got inside of it before he could say anything to Kun and Doyoung.  
  
The rest of the class he was feeling bad because of how he had treated his hyungs. He was happy because, for once in his life, someone that wasn't only Ten was worried about him because they cared about him. However, he may have destroyed that because he wasn't feeling well and decided to lash out on people who didn't deserve it.  
  
What if now, none of them wanted to talk to him? What if they noticed that Jungwoo was a lost cause that wasn't worthy? What if...  
  
He couldn't stop thinking about the 'what if's that crossed his mind. He could be overreacting, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. Jungwoo could feel the anxiety growing in his chest, making it harder to breathe properly.  
  
He had to calm down before having an anxiety attack. He couldn't have one in   
the school, even less in front of his classmates, so he tried to take deep breaths and stay calm.  
  
After a few minutes, he could breath correctly again and he felt more at ease. He was still worried, but he could talk to them after the class ended and apologize for his behaviour. Yes, that was what he was going to do.  
  
When the class finally ended, Jungwoo got up from his seat, trying to leave the classroom as soon as possible. However, Woojin and Byungho got in his way.  
  
"Where are you going in such a hurry, little shit?" Woojin snarled. Jungwoo knew that he had made a mistake. He stayed silent, praying that they would let him alone if he didn't say anything.  
  
"Oh, so you aren't going to talk to us?" Byungho said, smirking at the end of the sentence.  
  
"It seems like we have to make you talk since you won't do it by yourself" Woojin said and, after that, Jungwoo felt a punch directly in the stomach. He fell to his knees because of the pain, putting an arm around the area. He still had some bruises there and that punch had made him nauseous.  
  
"What? You still won't talk?" Byungho said and slapped him. Jungwoo just stood there, with his face down trying not to look at them in the eyes. He was trying hard not to cry because he knew that crying only made it worse. He also knew that they got bored easily so he just had to endure it for a little longer.  
  
"You're so boring, trashcan. We'll let you go for now because we have better things to do. Let's go, Byungho" Woojin said and both of them left the classroom.   
  
Their teacher, who had seen it all, just pretended that she wasn't looking and left the classroom, leaving Jungwoo inside.  
  
Jungwoo was still on the floor, now with tears running down his face. He was so tired of this. He just wanted it all to end. But he knew that he couldn't give up that easily, he had to fight for himself and endure everything until he turned 18. He had to fight for Ten and now, for his new friends. Maybe he hadn't known them for that long, but he liked them and he knew that they were worth it.   
  
He cleaned his face with the sleeves of his hoodie and stood up. When he got up from the floor, he felt dizzy, really dizzy. He was thankful for the table that wa beside him. That table made him not fall to the ground again. He supported himself for a few minutes until he was able to stand without its help.  
  
Once the dizziness disappeared, he noticed that his head was hurting even more than before. He was also really cold, shivering even if he was inside and with a warm hoodie. His eyes were also teary, making it hard for him to see properly. He knew that he was getting a little sick, but he decided to ignore it. He had to talk to Kun and Doyoung after all.  
  
He left the classroom, expecting to find Kun and Doyoung near the door. However, all he found was an empty hallway where only a few students were waiting to enter the classroom. Suddenly, he felt choked up. They were tired of him. They had left him. They were fed up with his attitude.  
  
His tears started to fall before he even registered it. He was crying. He had lost them. They always waited for him after every class, but now, they had left him behind. And it was all because of him.  
  
He started sobbing in the middle of the hallway. He couldn't do that there. He couldn't let everyone see him like that. He could talk to them after the classes.  
  
Jungwoo had to go to his next class, that was PE. He had to wait until classes ended so he could talk to them and apologize. Yes, that sounded like a good plan even if it made Jungwoo's stomach flip uncomfortably.  
  
He dried his tears and took a deep breath. After that, he went to the gym where he had PE. On his way there, he got a little bit dizzy, but nothing he couldn't bear.  
  
Once he entered the gym, he went to the changing rooms and where he left his bag. The people in there looked at him the moment he opened the door. Some of them started teasing him again, calling him nasty things for crying, others laughed at what those were saying and some of them even looked at him with sympathetic looks, wanting to help him but knowing that if they did anything, they would be bullied too.  
  
At this point, Jungwoo was just too tired to care. He just let them say everything to him, knowing that every one of those things they were saying were familiar by now. He let them push him around, pushing him to the ground until their teacher arrived. He ignored the situation, as always, but at least now they had to go to the gym.  
  
Once everyone left the room, he stood up, dizzy again and he had to sit down on the floor. He was so dizzy that he didn't notice that the door of the room had been opened again.  
  
"Jungwoo? What are you doing there?" Jungwoo heard Jaehyun before he could see him. He got a little startled but then he remembered that it was only Jaehyun. He had nothing to fear.  
  
"H-hyung, what are you doing here?" He asked, surprised after a few seconds when the dizziness disappeared.  
  
"Well, my next class is PE, so I have to come here" Jungwoo nodded. It made sense. "Now, why are you on the ground?" He asked while offering his hand. Jungwoo took it and stood up.  
  
"It's nothing. Just my classmates being assholes" Jungwoo said, shrugging.  
  
"What did they do to you? They are bothering you again, aren't they?" Jaehyun suddenly became angry. Of course those assholes hadn't let Jungwoo alone, even if it seemed like it. When he was on his classes, he was always without them so they would take advantage of that to bother him again.  
  
"It's okay. I mean, they always do shit like this so it doesn't even bother me that much anymore" Jungwoo winced at how much his head was hurting. It was cold in there, too.  
  
"You shouldn't be used to that, Jungwoo. What they do to you is just horrible" Jaehyun said.  
  
"I know, I know, but I just ignore them now. It's better that way" Jungwoo smiled sadly.  
  
"And what about the teachers? They just ignore it like that?" Jaehyun was getting furious. Not at Jungwoo, but at how people acted in that highschool. They saw a boy suffering from bullying and they didn't do anything.  
  
"They don't always ignore it..." Jungwoo tried to say something more, but he couldn't find a reason why the teachers would ignore bullying. People always say to go to your teachers or your parents when you go through something like that, but Jungwoo's parents weren't even an option and it seemed like his teachers weren't one either.  
  
When they were about to continue, they heard the voices from their teachers from outside, starting the class already.  
  
"We'll continue this conversation later, okay?" Jaehyun said. Jungwoo nodded and both of them hurried to the gym.  
  
Jungwoo hadn't heard the full explanation, but he knew that they had to play something similar to basketball but instead of using baskets, they had to pass the ball to score the point. Jaehyun's class were playing volleyball.  
  
They were divided in two teams and the game started. At first, everyone was doing everything wrong because they hadn't played antything like that before, but after a few minutes they started playing better.  
  
Jungwoo would usually try to stay as far from the ball as possible, but to get a point everyone in the team had to touch the ball at least once.  
  
That was being an issue because his teammates never passed the ball to him, and when they did, he couldn't catch the ball because they weren't even throwing it to him.  
  
"Oh, c'mon, stop being so useless!" One of them said when he couldn't catch the ball.  
  
'Maybe if you threw it in my direction I could have caught it' Jungwoo thought to himself. He wouldn't say that out loud but he was getting more and more frustrated.  
  
He was tired and his body seemed not to like this activity that much. He was sweating, but he wasn't hot. He was getting dizzy and his head was killing him.  
  
The game started again and the one who had insulted him before got the ball again.  
  
"Catch this, little shit" He said and he threw the ball to Jungwoo. However, he wasn't passing it to him, he was literally throwing it, so Jungwoo couldn't catch it on time. The ball hit his head hard, on the side. It was a basketball ball, and the hit combined with his dizziness made him fall to the ground.   
  
He didn't know why, but suddenly, everything turned black.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a cliffhanger, right? XD Sorry.
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated♡


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun saves the day and thinks about some things that make him a little flustered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :D here is another chapter. Sorry for how long it took me to upload this, but I'm really busy thesd days ;-;
> 
> Have you seen Moonwalk by WayV? It's incredible. Everything was just amazing, Winwin and Hendery rapping, Yangyang and Lucas spitting fire, Kun and Ten's vocals and Xiaojun's highnote. And the dance break, oof.
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is a little longer to make up for the time I spent writing it :') 
> 
> I hope you like it and, as always, comments and kudos are very appreciated :D

Jaehyun's day had started quite well. He ate breakfast with his mom, which didn't happen very often. He had woken up feeling refreshed and not tired. On his way out of his house, he had seen Sunhee sleeping peacefully in the couch, a cute sight to begin the day.  
  
On his first class, which was English, he had been relaxed because he had a good English level so he mostly focused in helping Sicheng, who wasn't as lucky as him, to pass this class that was like hell for the Chinese boy.  
  
The following class was PE, the only subject in which he wasn't with Sicheng or any of his friends.   
  
He had seen Jungwoo in the changing rooms, so now he knew that Jungwoo's class had PE at the same time as him, so at least he could see one of his friends in that class now. He hadn't notice that Jungwoo had PE in the same hours as him, so it surprised him to see Jungwoo there before their class started.  
  
However, when he talked with Jungwoo he got angry. Very angry. Not at Jungwoo, of course, but at everyone else. The people who bullied him, the teachers, the ones that saw what was happening to him and didn't do anything. How could they do something like that? Weren't they seeing how affected Jungwoo was by now?   
  
He wanted to keep talking to Jungwoo but their classes were starting so he told him that they would talk about it later.  
  
Jaehyun went with his classmates to listen to the teacher when the class started. He wasn't really paying attention, but he knew that they would be playing volleyball. They were divided in two teams and started playing.  
  
While he was playing, Jaehyun wasn't able to concentrate properly. He was still mad and he couldn't help but keep looking at where Jungwoo's class was, his eyes searching for the small boy.  
  
He had seen Jungwoo that morning and he could swear that Jungwoo seemed paler than usual. He had also seen him shivering a little and Jaehyun was getting worried. Jungwoo looked a little sick now that he thought about it, but when he had talked with him he didn't think about asking him how he felt. If he was sick or something like that.  
  
Now, he couldn't stop looking at Jungwoo, seeing how his classmates were ignoring him. In some way, that was relieving because if they weren't paying attention to him, at least they weren't bothering him.  
  
"Jung, concentrate on the game!" His teacher said. Jaehyun sighed. He should concentrate on what he was doing.  
  
After a while, he heard some screams coming from where Jungwoo's class was. He looked for a moment, curious about what was happening and somewhat scared of what it could be.  
  
He saw a boy screaming and looking angry. At first, he didn't know why he was screaming like that, but then he noticed that he was looking at Jungwoo, who was looking down a few meters away from him.  
  
Jaehyun got mad again. Couldn't they let Jungwoo alone? Weren't they satisfied already with all the damage they had caused?  
  
He wanted to go there and say some things to Jungwoo's classmates. He wanted to go there and protect Jungwoo, who was looking small and defenseless. Jaehyun hadn't felt anything like that before, anything that was as strong as this sudden instict of protecting the other.  
  
Suddenly, he saw the boy who had been yelling before throw the ball in Jungwoo's direction. He watched in horror how the baskteball ball hit Jungwoo's head with force and how the boy closed his eyes and fell to the ground.  
  
In less than a second, Jaehyun was already running towards Jungwoo. He got by his side and dropped to his knees. He knew that he shouldn't be doing that, that his teacher would probably get mad at him, but he didn't mind. He just wanted to make sure that Jungwoo was okay. He was scared, horrified at the way Jungwoo's body was so still that almost looked like he was... no, he was okay. He just fainted. Don't think like that, Jaehyun.  
  
Carefully, he took Jungwoo in his arms, his heart clenching at how small and skinny he was. Jungwoo was unconscious, his eyes closed tightly and his breaths rather quick.  
  
Jaehyun could now see how pale Jungwoo was, his eyebags more noticeable now. He was also shaking in his arms even if his body was completely limp.  
  
"Jungwoo, hey Jungwoo, wake up. Jungwoo!" He tried to wake him up, but the younger boy didn't respond.  
  
Jaehyun touched his forehead gently, trying not to cause the other any pain. He got shocked when he felt how hot Jungwoo was. Then it hit him. Jungwoo was sick. Jungwoo had a fever. Jungwoo hadn't fainted just because of the hit to his head, he was weak from being sick.  
  
That worried Jaehyun even more. Why was Jungwoo in the school with a high fever like this? He should be resting at home, recovering, instead of coming to school only to get worse.  
  
Jaehyun got Jungwoo closer to him, trying to give him some heat. The poor boy was shaking, looking for warmth. Suddenly, a voice interrupted the whispers of everyone who was watching them.  
  
"What happened here?" Jungwoo's teacher asked. Of course that man wasn't even looking at what they had been doing. Jaehyun got even more furious.  
  
"One of his classmates threw the ball at his head and he fainted" Jaehyun said, wrath seeping from his voice.  
  
"What? Why would anyone throw a basketball ball at someone's head?" The teacher asked confused.  
  
"Well, why don't you ask him? He was the one who did it after all" Jaehyun looked at the boy who had been insulting Jungwoo before. The kid was trying to hide behind his classmates but the teacher saw him anyways.  
  
"Why did you do that?" He asked.  
  
"I just passed him the ball" The kid said.  
  
"Oh, no you didn't" Jaehyun wasn't going to let that asshole escape. "He threw the ball with the intentions of hitting Jungwoo. Why would he get hit otherwise?" Jaehyun said and now the teacher frowned.   
  
"Is that what happened?" He asked to the rest of the class, who just looked away.  
  
"That was what happened, I saw it too" One of Jaehyun's classmates, Jungkook, said. Jaehyun hadn't noticed how most of his classmates were now behind him.  
  
"I saw it too" Yugyeom, another classmate, said.  
  
Then, more of Jaehyun's classmates started nodding and telling that they saw what the kid did. The teacher, now believing Jaehyun, turned to look at the kid.  
  
"Come with me to the principal's office" He said and the kid followed him with his head down.  
  
Jaehyun felt incredibly happy for that. Finally, the kids who bothered Jungwoo were receiving what they deserved. Oh, how he wished he could have done things like that to make the rest of the people who hurt Jungwoo be punished at last.  
  
Jungwoo whimpered, making Jaehyun remember the situation. He got up carrying Jungwoo, who had his face hidden in his neck. He could feel now how high his body temperature was.  
  
"Jung, would you mind taking him to see the nurse?" His own teacher asked him, already knowing the answer.  
  
"I'll take him" He said and he turned to his classmates. "Thanks for that. I don't think he would have believed me if it wasn't for you"   
  
"It was nothing. I mean, we aren't lying. That boy literally threw the ball at him" Jungkook said.  
  
"Yeah, he shouldn't have done that" Yugyeom said.  
  
"You should get going soon" Bambam said, gesturing at Jungwoo who was still unconscious.  
  
"Yes, I'm going. Thanks for everything" Jaehyun said and started walking to the infirmary.  
  
He got there quickly and the nurse got shocked when he saw him, carrying Jungwoo.  
  
He explained what had happened and the nurse just frowned, as if she was used to this.  
  
"Those kids never know when to stop, right?" She asked more to herself.   
  
Jaehyun also told her that Jungwoo had a fever, to which she put him a termometer to see how high the fever really was. Once the termometer beeped, the nurse looked at the temperature, gasping at what she saw.  
  
"What is it?" Jaehyun asked, worried.  
  
"104 °F. This kid has a really high fever. Your name was Jaehyun, right?" She asked while looking for things in his table.  
  
"Yes" he answered.  
  
"Well, I have to go now and I won't be able to come back today. I thought that no one would be coming here, so I was just going to close the door because not many kids come here anyways"  
  
Jaehyun nodded.   
  
"Jungwoo can't go back to class in his state. I don't think the hit in his head is dangerous but with how high his fever is, I don't even know how he was walking a while ago. He will be weak and dizzy when he wakes up so it would be better if you stay here with him. I don't want to leave him alone just in case he wakes up" The nurse grabbed a paper and started writing.  
  
"You could come here when the classes ended but I would prefer if you were here with him as much as possible. I can sign this saying that you had been helping me today and you can show it to the teachers so they won't ask anything" She said while giving the paper to Jaehyun. He looked at it, grateful for it.  
  
"Do you want to stay here with Jungwoo? Just to be sure that he isn't alone in case he wakes up before the classes end" She asked. Jaehyun immediately nodded, happy with the possibility of staying with Jungwoo. He was very worried and scared for him and he didn't think he would be able to concentrate in any of his classes if he didn't make sure that Jungwoo was okay.  
  
The nurse smiled and gathered her things. Before going out, she talked again.  
  
"When he wakes up, be sure to give him some water. Water is important to reduce the fever. If he throws up, call an ambulence so they can check him up. And try to use some cold water with a towel to lower his fever a bit" She said while gesturing to where a few towels were folded near a sink.  
  
"Okay, I think I can do it" Jaehyun said even if he was actually scared of messing up and making Jungwoo feel worse.  
  
"Of course you can. And thanks for taking care of him. He needs it" She said with a sad smile and then she left the room.  
  
Jaehyun looked at Jungwoo who was still sleeping. He watches how his chest fell and raised a little too quick to be normal. He noticed how red his cheeks were, making the fever more evident. Sometimes, he started to cough. The coughs sounded painful and he could see how Jungwoo's body tensed and curled on itself when the coughs began again.  
  
Jungwoo was covered with a blanket and he was still using his hoodie, but he just kept shivering. Well, his fever was high so it wasn't that strange.  
  
Jaehyun didn't like seeing Jungwoo like that. Pale, unconscious, weak and with a frown in his face that showed how much he was hurting. He wished he could take his pain away, knowing how much the younger had suffered already.  
  
He decided to try to lower his fever a bit using the towels. He damped a towel with cold water and put it in Jungwoo's forehead. The boy didn't seem to notice anything as he continued sleeping just like before.  
  
Jaehyun got his phone out of his pockets and texted the groupchat where all of them were.  
  
**1+1+2= 10**  
  
** Jaehyun: Guys, I'm at the nurse's office with Jungwoo**  
  
Just a few minutes later, texts started appearing in Jaehyun's screen.  
  
**Ten: What?! What happened??**  
  
** Doyoung: Are you two okay?**  
  
** Taeyong: How did you even get there?**  
  
** Jaehyun: A kid hit Jungwoo in the head with a basketball ball and he fainted. When I brought him here, the nurse also told me that he has a high fever**  
  
** Ten: I knew he should have stayed at home. He's sick and I didn't want to let him come to school today, but he didn't listen**  
  
** Kun: Doyoung and I also asked him if he was feeling okay, but he got angry**  
  
** Ten: That's usual in him. Whenever he is sick or something, he doesn't tell anyone and things like this happen**  
  
** Johnny: And how did you get there, Jae?**  
  
** Jaehyun: I discovered today that I have PE at the same time as him. I saw it all happening and I couldn't leave him there. I had to help him**  
  
** Sicheng: That's a relief. Imagine if no one was there to help him**  
  
**Taeil: Well, there are teachers there, right?**  
  
** Jaehyun: The teachers are assholes. Everyone saw that kid literally throwing the ball to his head and no one said it. I told his teacher what happened and he almost didn't believe me**  
  
** Johnny: I'm actually getting angry right now**  
  
** Yuta: And what did they do to the kid?**  
  
** Jaehyun: The teacher took him to the principal's office**  
  
** Ten: Good. I was ready to go and kick his ass**  
  
** Yuta: Same**  
  
** Sicheng: Same**  
  
** Taeyong: You three stay where you are. When this class finishes we can go and see Jungwoo**  
  
** Taeil: Is he awake now, Jaehyun?**  
  
** Jaehyun: Nope. He's still sleeping**  
  
** Kun: I mean, he probably needs it. He's usually very tired and now that he's sick, he must be even more tired**  
  
** Doyoung: Jae, did you put something cold in his forehead to lower the fever? When he wakes up, give him water**  
  
** Jaehyun: Doyoung-hyung, you sound like the nurse**  
  
** Doyoung: I'm worried, okay? I knew he wasn't okay this morning but I couldn't do anything to prevent this**  
  
** Ten: Don't worry, Doyoungie. He is very stubborn, it's not your fault**  
  
** Doyoung: I know, but I feel bad. He is younger than me and I let this happen to him. How will I help him when something like this happen again?**  
  
** Taeyong: Doyoung, it wasn't your fault. He is younger than us, yes, but we can't prevent everything. Maybe, if that kid didn't hit him he would have been fine. Of course, he is sick and we can't change that for now, but things happened this way and now we have to help him as much as we can**  
  
** Sicheng: Yes, Taeyong-hyung is right. Maybe we couldn't prevent this, but now we can help him recover and get better**  
  
** Jaehyun: Don't feel bad, hyung :(**  
  
** Doyoung: Okay, but I'll go to see him when this class ends**  
  
** Doyoung: Btw, Jae, what are you going to tell your teachers tomorrow?**  
  
** Jaehyun: The nurse signed a paper where she says that I'm helping her today and I can't go to class **  
  
** Yuta: It's not fair. You get to spend the whole day with Jungwoo and you don't have to go to class **  
  
** Jaehyun: Oops ;)**  
  
After a some more minutes, the texts stopped because they were still in class and teachers were watching them.  
  
Jaehyun sighed and looked at Jungwoo, who was still sleeping. He changed the towel in his head and sat down again, taking Jungwoo's hand in his own.  
  
The younger boy was sleeping more peacefully now and his hands were warm. Jaehyun looked at him, smiling fondly.  
  
"Aish, why do you worry us like that? You have to be healthy and happy to let the hyungs be happy too" Jaehyun said while running his thumb on the palm of Jungwoo's hand. "What's happening to you, Jungwoo?" He says more to himself.  
  
He takes his time to really look at Jungwoo. His face was really skinny, so his cheekbones stick out a bit. His cheeks were flushed from the fever but at least they had some colour, not like the rest of his skin which was almost white. His eyes, now closed, had been shining more recently, almost sparkling. Those brown orbs made the boy look cute, making him seem like a puppy. Jungwoo's lips were a little dry. That must be because of the coughs and probably because of how cold the weather was nowadays. Right now, he was pouting a bit, and, oh, that pout was one of the cutest things Jaehyun had seen in his life.  
  
Jungwoo in general was really cute. He was just cute. He didn't need to act cute or do aegyo to look cute. He just was. Doyoung was cute too, even more when he got flustered or annoyed. They always bicker everyday, in a friendly way of course, and Jaehyun loves to see the older get all frustrated because of him.  
  
Wait, what was he thinking? Did he just thought that both Jungwoo and Doyoung were cute? Jaehyun started blushing when he finally noticed what he was thinking about. How could he be thinking something like that? In that moment, when Jungwoo was in front of him sleeping after fainting? Nope, that wasn't it. Jaehyun shook his head. He should be focusing on helping Jungwoo get better because that's what the other needed.  
  
Also, he wasn't thinking that he was cute a moment ago. Nope, that didn't happen.  
  
During the time he spent with Jungwoo before the class ended, he got flustered just by thinking about Jungwoo and Doyoung. He had never found anyone cute or attractive. Well, he recognized when someone was handsome or pretty, but never in that way. Jungwoo and Doyoung were really close friends but that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.  
  
He continued thinking about it until he heard some knocks coming from the door. He quickly got up to open to his friends, who were on the other side looking really concerned and impatient. When Jaehyun opened the door, they all hurried inside.  
  
"Jungwoo, baby" Ten said getting to his side. He brushed Jungwoo's hair that was now covering the towel in his forehead.   
  
"He looks sick" Yuta said, frowning.  
  
"He is, in fact, sick" Sicheng said, teasing him. As always, Yuta immediately started bickering and teasing Sicheng too. They had been doing that for a while and it came to a point where the rest of them didn't know if they were bickering or flirting with each other.  
  
"Stop doing that. You'll wake Jungwoo up" Taeil said, sighing when they continued. "No one respects me here" He said.  
  
"I respect you, hyung. Why do you always ignore me?" Johnny said, acting like he was crying. Taeil sighed again.  
  
"Stop doing that, you big baby" He said and he hugged Johnny who happily returned the hug.  
  
Ten was still by Jungwoo's side, looking sadly at him. He felt guilty. He should have tried to make him stay at his house. If he had tried harder, this wouldn't have happened.   
  
Taeyong got by his side and put an arm around him.  
  
"Ten, this isn't your fault" It was the first thing he had said since he entered.  
  
"I should have taken care of him" Ten said, not looking at Taeyong.  
  
"All of us should have, but as you said, he is very stubborn so maybe there was nothing we could have done to stop it" Taeyong said and Ten finally looked at him.  
  
"I'll believe you, but I also have to take better care of him" Taeyong just smiled and hugged him. Ten hugged him back. After a few seconds, they separated and walked away from the bed, giving Jungwoo and Jaehyun more space.   
  
Doyoung also got near them, a look of regret and guilt in his face. Jaehyun saw that and he took Doyoung's hand.  
  
"Hyung, stop blaming yourself. It wasn't your fault, okay?" Jaehyun said, smiling at him fondly. Doyoung opened his mouth to say something but he closed it again. After that, he sighed and smiled back at Jaehyun.  
  
"Okay. But I also want to take care of him. He looks really sick" Said Doyoung after looking at Jungwoo again.  
  
Jaehyun just smiled and put their linked hands on top of Jungwoo's.   
  
"Maybe we can stay with him at home and make sure he's okay? You have to go to your classes, hyung" Jaehyun said and Doyoung pouted at him.  
  
"I know, but I won't be able to concentrate on anything if I know he is here sick and feeling bad" Jaehyun just laughed at him.  
  
"Hyung, be responsible and go to your classes. You will be with us sooner than you think" Doyoung looked at Jaehyun's smiled that showed his dimples fully.  
  
"Okay" He said as he blushed a bit. He didn't know why, but Jaehyun's smile had that effect on him.  
  
Jaehyun tightened his grip on Jungwoo's hands, still looking at Doyoung. Doyoung looked at Jungwoo, who groaned suddenly.  
  
That caught everyone's attention and, in a moment, everyone was by their side.  
  
\- - -  
  
Jungwoo felt like he was floating, still not completely concious. He could feel the pain in his head, which seemed like had always been there by now. He was cold, really cold. He was laying in something soft and he was also covered by something, but that wasn't enough to make the cold go away.  
  
He was feeling some weight in his hand, something grabbing it. Then, he felt that grip tightening, giving him some strength to open his eyes.  
  
The first thing he noticed was that the lights were way too bright. He groaned, closing his eyes again. Suddenly, he heard some voices calling him. They were saying his name and something more, but he couldn't quite understand that.  
  
"Jungwoo" In between all those voices, Jungwoo could recognize two of them clearly. Jaehyun and Doyoung. He didn't know what made their voices stand out, but with the ringing in his ears, their voices sounded soft and lovely.  
  
He got the courage to open his eyes again, this time more slowly. When he could finally open them completely, he saw all his friends surrounding him. He had no clue where he was because he couldn't really see the room he was in. He was in a bed, covered by a blanket and he was feeling like a truck had hit him.  
  
"W-what?" He asked, very confused.  
  
"Jungwoo, you are awake" Ten said and smiled at him. His best friend was by his side with Taeyong smiling softly at them.  
  
"You scared us there, Jungwoo-yah" Johnny said, a relieved smile in his face as well.  
  
"Awake? What happened?" He still didn't know what was going on.  
  
"Don't you remember?" Yuta asked.  
  
"Not really. Everything is so confusing and, even right now, I don't know what's going on" Jungwoo said. The pain in his head was making it hard to talk properly and even harder to comprehend what his friends were saying.  
  
"You fainted during PE" Jaehyun said. Jungwoo looked at him for the first time even if he was really close to him. He looked down and saw that Jaehyun was the one holding his hand. Jungwoo saw another hand and he noticed that it was Doyoung's. Both of them had their hands linked with his own, keeping it warm. Jaehyun continued talking, seeing that Jungwoo wasn't going to say anything.  
  
"A kid hit you in the head with a basketball ball and you fainted. I brought you here and the nurse said that you are sick, fever and all of that. Now I'm staying here with you, and don't even begin to think about me letting you alone because it's not going to happen" Jaehyun said and squished his hand.  
  
"But... your classes" Jungwoo was starting to loose notion of what was happening around him. He could still hear and understand, but everything was starting to blur and spin around.  
  
"It's okay, the nurse said that I won't have any problem" Jaehyun said and smiled at him. He was really happy that he could watch over Jungwoo to make sure that he got better.  
  
"I told you that you had to rest, that you weren't okay" Doyoung said, scolding him a little but not too much because he didn't have the heart to do so when the younger was like this.  
  
Somerhing in Jungwoo's head reminded him that he had wanted to talk to Doyoung and Kun before.  
  
"Doyoung-hyung, Kun-hyung, I'm sorry. I'm so so so sorry. I know that I was being a brat and that I don't deserve any of you but please, don't go. I'm really sorry, I won't do it again. I will listen and I won't say anything, I promise" By now, nothing in Jungwoo's head made sense anymore. He had to apologize to them or they would leave him like they had done before.  
  
Everyone else in the room was confused. What was Jungwoo talking about?  
  
"Did something happen?" Jaehyun asked Doyoung and Kun. Both of them tried to remember, to find what was bothering the younger so much. He had been calm and a little out of it until he had started looking really upset and nervous.  
  
"I don't know. I mean, we asked him if he wasn't feeling good and all of that and he got a little upset. He went to his class almost immediately, so we didn't ask him anything else" Said Kun, still thinking.  
  
Jungwoo kept mumbling the same thing over and over again. He had started crying and he was breathing more shallowly. Jaehyun saw how stressed the younger boy was and he tried to comfort him by squishing his hand tightly, his other hand coming to his hair. When he had had a panic attack the other day, Jaehyun noticed that Jungwoo calmed down a bit when someone was touching his hair, so he decided to try it in hopes of helping the sick boy.  
  
"Don't leave me, please" Jungwoo said, looking directly at Doyoung. Jaehyun could see how his eyes weren't really focused, meaning that he probably wasn't sure of what was happening. It hurt his heart to see Jungwoo like that.  
  
"I won't leave you, Jungwoo. I'm here, with you" Doyoung said while gently running his hand through the brown hair. Jaehyun felt warm seeing the interaction between the two of them. Something inside him made him feel happy, seeing his two friends be like that.  
  
"I think I know what happened" Kun said suddenly. "When our first class ended, we didn't wait for him. I mean, we waited but when Jungwoo wasn't coming out of the class after a long time we left, thinking that he was already gone. He was still there probably, and he must have thought that we left him behind because he was upset before" Kun's face changed after that. He now noticed the problem there. None of them left Jungwoo alone after one of his classes. They always waited for him until they had to go to their classes and Jungwoo, in his feverish state, must have thought that they were mad at him.  
  
"Jungwoo, is that true?" Doyoung asked, making Jungwoo stop mumbling. Jungwoo looked at them with tears running down his face.  
  
"I'm sorry" He said and he started sobbing. Doyoung immediately hugged him tightly, feeling guilty for letting the younger think that they would leave him. He felt Jungwoo tremble in his arms, either from the cold he was feeling because of the fever or from fear that he would be alone. They all knew that Jungwoo needed them. Maybe they hadn't known each other for that long, but Ten assured them that they made Jungwoo feel a lot happier and better than before.  
  
"Jungwoo, I'm so sorry. We left because we thought you weren't there. We should have looked inside the class. We weren't mad ay you" Doyoung said while rubbing the boy's back.  
  
"Don't cry, please. We aren't going anywhere" Kun said while caressing his hair.  
  
Everyone in the room looked at Jungwoo, seeing him cry. They all felt now how important they really were to him. They hadn't considered how much the younger boy appreciated them. Before, he only had Ten with him and, even if the Thai boy did his best to protect his best friend, he wasn't able to protect him as much as they all together could.  
  
Doyoung and Kun continued trying to calm Jungwoo down because that crying wasn't going to do anything good on him, that was alredy weak from being sick.  
  
After a while, Jungwoo fell back asleep on Doyoung's shoulder.   
  
"He's asleep again" He said when he felt Jungwoo's body go limp in his arms. He laid him back on the bed. Everyone was silent for a moment.  
  
"That's it. I'm not letting him come back to school until he's healthy again" Ten said.  
  
"Let's put him in bed arrest" Johnny chuckled, trying to lift the mood in the room.   
  
They all smiled after it. When they saw what had happened, all of them knew that they had to take care of Jungwoo. He needed it and they would be there for him.  
  
The sound of the bell interrupted the silence in the room, making all of them stop thinking.   
  
"You should get going to your classes" Jaehyun said. He had took Jungwoo's hand in his again, Doyoung's still interlocked as well.  
  
"Oh, yeah. You're staying here, right?" Taeyong asked.  
  
"Yes. Don't worry, I'm not leaving him alone" He said smiling.  
  
"Please, take care of him, Jaehyun" Doyoung said, looking at Jaehyun's eyes with such worry and sincerity. It made Jaehyun feel different, it made him want to do whatever to make Doyoung happy again, because Doyoung deserved to be happy.   
  
Looking into Doyoung's big eyes, Jaehyun nodded and answered "Of course, hyung. I'll be here with him untio our classes end"  
  
Doyoung looked at him for a few more seconds, something that made Jaehyun start feeling nervous. It was weird, because he swore he could get lost in Doyoung's eyes if he continued looking.  
  
"Let's get going, Doyoung" Kun said while walking out of the room. All of them said goodbye to Jaehyun, telling him to take care of Jungwoo.  
  
"I'll come here when the classes end" Doyoung said before going out.  
  
Jaehyun smiled. Maybe his day hadn't been the best, but at least he could make sure Jungwoo was recovering and Doyoung would be there with him too.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun and Jungwoo spend some time together and Doyoung can't stop worrying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm back with another chapter ^^ I'm sorry for taking so long again ;-; anyways, I've been crying for the past two days because of the Dreamies and I wanted to cheer someone up with this (if this even cheers up anyone xD)
> 
> So, I hope you enjoy it and please, leave comments and Kudos if you like it uwu

Doyoung couldn't concentrate. He had been trying to pay attention to what the teacher was saying for almost 25 minutes, but he just couldn't. 

His mind was in another place. He couldn't stop thinking about Jungwoo. He was worried, to say the least, and it was making it impossible to focus.

When he had read in the chat that Jungwoo had fainted because he was sick, he felt his heart stop for a moment. He had seen how bad the younger looked, but he did nothing to stop him. Well, he did something, but it wasn't enough.

He tried not to fall into old habits, but it was difficult. His psychologist had told him many times to be more confident in himself, in what he was able to do, but he couldn't do that, not in this moment.

He felt like he wasn't worth anything. It wasn't Jungwoo's fault, of course, but if he had tried hard enough, maybe Jungwoo wouldn't be in his current situation. Maybe he could have taken care of him and help him get better.

He sighed, trying to listen to his teacher again. He didn't like where his thoughts were going. He should stop thinking about those things in order to improve. Doyoung had been trying for a while to deal with this problem and he had even looked for help, something that many people were afraid to do but that had helped him a lot.

Therapy had been hard at first, but when he got used to it and he grew more comfortable, it had become a place in which he could let everything out. His psychologist was very good with him, always helping him in every way she could. 

He smiled to himself. He still remembered the first time he went to therapy. He was so nervous that his hands wouldn't stop shaking. He was the one who talked with his mother to take him to see a psychologist. He knew that if he didn't get any help, he would only get worse.

He didn't want to give up like that, he didn't want his insecurities to control him like that. Yes, he was more than those stupid insecurities.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind from negative thoughts. He should think about positive things. The first things that came to his head were, surprisingly, Jungwoo and Jaehyun. He didn't know when or how it happened, but those two had become a very important part in his life.

Jaehyun always loved to tease him or make him flustered, just for seeing him all red and nervous. However, he also had tried to cheer him up whenever he was sad about something and he was also really funny. Doyoung loved spending time with him because he knew that they were going to have fun. He also felt safe whenever he was with him. He didn't know why, but he just felt protected when he was with the younger boy. Jaehyun was really mature even if he was a bit younger than him, and Doyoung admired how he was able to react whenever something happened, always trying to think before doing anything.

Then, there was Jungwoo. Jungwoo had been painfully shy at first, not wanting to look into his eyes for more than 10 seconds. Doyoung smiled at the thought. Now Jungwoo had become more comfortable with all of them, and that made them able to discover new sides of him. Jungwoo was also really funny in a way that he loved. The younger boy always made everyone smile and laugh whenever he was around. He was also very touchy. Doyoung had been surprised more than once because of his sudden hugs. Unfortunately, there was also another Jungwoo who was more silent, who didn't want hugs or would flinch when any of them tried to pat his head, who looked exhausted and probably was. Doyoung didn't like seeing that Jungwoo. At first, that was the only part of Jungwoo that he knew, but when he saw the younger being so energetic and loud, he didn't want to return to the other one. Doyoung wanted to keep his smile as much as possible because he hated seeing him like that.

He knew that they had already helped. If they hadn't Jungwoo wouldn't have reacted like he did when he thought they were mad at him and had gone without him. 

Doyoung felt guilt overcome him. It had been a mistake, obviously neither Kun nor him wanted to make the younger feel that way, but they had hurt Jungwoo and he knew that Kun was feeling just as him. Guilty.

He had to make sure to explain to Jungwoo that they weren't even near to being angry with him. It was probably the fever that had made him react like that as well, but Jungwoo had felt bad for their action and he would be sure to apologize to him.

His head went back to the nurse's office. He thought about how Jaehyun had taken his hand to calm him down. And he also thought about how he was making sure that Jungwoo was sleeping and recovering. Jaehyun was really sweet. He had also said that they would be taking care of him that afternoon because Doyoung wanted to stay there with him instead of going to class.

Doyoung knew that he was being responsible, but he felt happy thinking that Jaehyun was worried about him too. 

The bell rang and he woke up from his trance. He must have really spaced out because he hadn't noticed the time. He didn't know what the lesson had been about, but he already expected that. Well, he would have to ask for someone's notes.

He sighed, getting up from his seat. Two more hours left until he could finally see Jungwoo and Jaehyun again. That was a good motivation.

* * *

Jaehyun was still watching Jungwoo sleep. He hadn't expected him to react the way he did before. Maybe it was because of the fever, but he knew that Jungwoo's feelings had been real and that was what mattered.

He hated seeing him cry, even more crying like that, so desperately and sadly. He just wanted the poor boy to be happy and smile everyday, but in order to do that, he would take care of him as much as he could.

He had discovered that he also hated seeing Doyoung so nervous and worried. He just felt like he had to calm him down, to take his worries away. When he took his hand, it was more instinct than anything. He was grateful thay he could at least calm him down somehow. 

He was still taking Jungwoo's hand. He hadn't let go since he put his and Doyoung's hand on top of his and he hoped the boy laying in the bed could feel that he was there with him.

He saw how Jungwoo frowned a bit. Maybe he would wake up again? 

His suspicions turned out to be true, because Jungwoo opened his eyes again, looking a little confused and lost.

"Jungwoo?" He asked carefully. He didn't know if the younger was aware of his presence.

"Ah, hyung" He said and looked at him. His eyes still looked a bit unfocused, but it was better than before.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm cold" Jungwoo said, trying to get closer to Jaehyun.

"Cold? It must be from the fever" Jaehyun said, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Hyung, where are the others? Weren't they here? Or was it a dream?" He asked softly.

"They were here, but they had to leave to go to class" He answered. He saw Jungwoo shiver, trying to get the blanket to cover him more.

"Wait, move over" Jaehyun said, getting up from his chair. Jungwoo, still a bit confused about what Jaehyun was trying to do, moved to the side. Jaehyun lifted the blanket and laid beside Jungwoo. 

Jungwoo, and not because of the fever, blushed even more. He didn't know what was going through Jaehyun's mind, but having him close was making him nervous and flustered.

"Come here, you'll get warmer" Jaehyun said, opening his arms. Jungwoo got near Jaehyun, still shy, and let Jaehyun hug him. He put his head in Jaehyun's chest. After a few moments, he felt Jaehyun caress his back and he began to relax. Now that he was more relaxed, he felt how warmth radiated from Jaehyun's body, making his shivers stop almost completely.

"Better?" Jaehyun asked, still stroking Jungwoo's back.

"Yes" Jungwoo answered quietly.

"Jungwoo, can I ask you something?" 

"Sure"

"Do you really believe that Doyoung and Kun left you behind before?" 

"I don't know, hyung. I know that they aren't like that, but I was being annoying" He said sighing.

"Jungwoo, listen to me. I don't know what you did or what you said, but I'm sure that Kun and Doyoung weren't bothered by it or annoyed at you, okay? They thought you had left already, that's why they went to their next class without you" Jaehyun said, trying to make the younger understand that they weren't annoyed at him or anything like that. In fact, they were really worried.

"Really? Did they say that to you?" Jungwoo's voice had always been soft, but now it was even softer and he sounded so insecure that Jaehyun couldn't help tightening the hug.

"Of course, Jungwoo. They weren't going to leave you. None of us are going to leave you alone" Jaehyun wanted to stop Jungwoo's insecurities so bad.

"You won't leave me then, right, hyung?" Jungwoo turned in Jaehyun's embrance and looked at him. His eyes were wide and slightly glossy, probably from the fever, but the hope that they hold made Jaehyun shudder.

"Of course not. I'm not going anywhere, Jungwoo-yah" Jaehyun smiled softly and brushed Jungwoo's hair. Jungwoo, in response to his words, smiled immediately. A wide and real smile that made Jaehyun smile too. Suddenly, he started coughing, making him look down, covering his mouth with his hand.

"That doesn't sound good" Jaehyun said, caressing Jungwoo's back again, trying to comfort him. After a few minutes, Jungwoo stopped coughing and sighed tiredly. He was tired again just from that and his throat was burning.

"I'm tired" Jungwoo said quietly with his hoarse voice.

"Then, sleep. I'll wake you up when classes end. I'll be here with you" Jaehyun said while making Jungwoo put his head in his chest. Jungwoo just sighed and tried to breath slowly. After a few minutes, he was asleep again.

Jaehyun sighed. Jungwoo had to get better soon. Or else, his heart wouldn't survive after seeing him in so much pain. He was also adorable with that blush in his cheeks. 

Jaehyun shook his head. Not again, he reminded himself.

* * *

Jaehyun spent the rest of the day laying there with Jungwoo sleeping on top of him. He had almost fallen asleep a few times because he was very comfortable. Jungwoo was now almost laying on top of him and he was warm so it made Jaehyun sleepy, but he couldn't fall asleep. He had to watch over Jungwoo, so he made and effort and stayed there, thinking about what were they going to do after classes.

He had promised Doyoung that they would take care of Jungwoo, but the younger boy probably wanted to go to his house as soon as possible so he could rest. It made sense, everyone wanted to be in their house when they didn't feel good and, even if they weren't that young anymore, having your parents' comfort when you are sick always helps somehow. Even Jaehyun himself felt better when he was with his mother.

Well, even if Jungwoo was going to his house, he and Doyoung could visit him if Jungwoo wanted them to. He wanted him to rest, so he would ask him first. 

Jungwoo mumbled something in his sleep and hugged him tighter. Jaehyun smiled at how cute he was. Even if he was asleep, he was cute.

Sooner than he expected, the last class ended and he had to wake Jungwoo up so they could go to his house. He really wanted to let him sleep, but his house was probably a better place to recover.

"Jungwoo" he started calling him softly, running his hand through his hair to wake him up. Jungwoo started moving a bit, still not opening his eyes. "C'mon, you have to wake up so you can go to your house" Jaehyun said, chuckling because the younger boy just continued with his eyes closed.

"I don't want to go to my house" Jungwoo said softly. He was still half-asleep, so he didn't really know what he was saying.

"You don't want to rest and sleep at home? Why?" Jaehyun thought that he just wanted to continue sleeping, not mattering where he was at the moment, so he continued teasing him a bit. He was smiling until he heard Jungwoo's answer.

"My house is not home. I don't like it" Jungwoo said without noticing. The fever and the sleepiness made him not as careful as before.

Jaehyun stopped after that answer. He didn't like his house? It didn't feel like home for him? Suddenly, he remembered what he talked with Doyoung. Something worse and bigger was happening to him. Maybe something at his house? He didn't want to jump into conclussions so early because he didn't even know if Jungwoo really had other problem apart from the bullying, but it was suspicious. He would have to talk with Doyoung about this.

When he wanted to ask more things yo Jungwoo, he noticed that he had already woken up completely and was looking at him.

"Have you woken up already?" He asked, trying to hide what he was thinking about.

"Yes, I'm awake. What did you say before? I think I was talking to you, but I don't remember it" Jungwoo giggled at the end. Huh, so maybe he didn't mean what he said.

"I told you that you have to get ready to go to your house. I mean, you want to go home to rest, right?" Jaehyun asked again. That could be a way to know if he really meant what he said before.

"To my house? I... I don't know. I'll probably go to Ten's house" Jungwoo said carefully. So it was true that he really didn't want to go to his house.

"Why? I mean, he lives near you so it won't be because it's less distance" Jaehyun asked trying not to sound suspicious.

"Well, I usually go to Ten's house anyways and my parents aren't in my house today" Jungwoo said, not looking at him in the eyes.

"Doyoung-hyung and I wanted to go with you if you don't mind. I mean, if you want to rest obviously we won't go because you need to rest to get better, but we are really worried and we want to take care of you so you can recover as soon as possible because we don't like seeing you sick-" Jaehyun's rant stopped when Jungwoo looked at him again.

"Hyung, of course you can come with me. Doyoung-hyung and you are always taking care of me and I really appreciate that. And this has been one of the best naps I've had in a while" Jungwoo said and blushed a little after talking. Jaehyun then blushed too, touched by Jungwoo's words.

"Then, we'll go with you so you can get better. I didn't know I was such a good pillow to sleep on though" Jaehyun said and laughed at Jungwoo's reaction.

"Stop teasing me. I'm sick" Jungwoo said and hid under Jaehyun's chin.

"Stop being cute" Jaehyun said back. "Then, why don't we go to your house? I mean, then you wouldn't be alone and we could stay there until your parents arrive" Jaehyun suggested.

"Um... can't we go somewhere else? I really don't want to go to my house because when you leave, I'll be alone and my parents won't be coming back until tomorrow" Jungwoo said, looking at Jaehyun again. Jaehyun knew he was hiding something but he also couldn't let him go to his house if he didn't want to. He wanted Jungwoo to be comfortable and recover, and even if he wanted to know the truth about what was happening to him, he wouldn't force the younger to stay alone in his house if he didn't want to.

"Okay, then we can go to my house. My mother is out as well" He said. His mother was out of the house most of the time because she had to travel a lot in his work. However, she always made time to see him every week and spend time with him when she could. He was really close to her and he knew she was working hard so they could live well and happy. She was the only one taking care of him since he was little, after his father left, so she had to work hard.

"I won't bother you, right? I mean, it's okay if I go?" Jungwoo sounded a little insecure.

"Of course it's okay. I wouldn't have offered if it wasn't. And you can stay to sleep if you want to, that way we aren't alone tonight" Jaehyun said and Jungwoo nodded.

Suddenly, the door opened and Doyoung entered quickly, stopping when he saw Jaehyun and Jungwoo hugging in the bed. Then, he blushed a bit and continued walking, laying on Jungwoo's other side even if there wasn't that much space left.

"This is not fair. I'm in class worrying about you and you two are here cuddling. I feel offended" Doyoung pouted and Jungwoo and Jaehyun laughed. Jungwoo started coughing and both Jaehyun and Doyoung patted his back. When the coughs stopped, Doyoung talked again.

"So, how are you feeling? Did you take a nap? Jaehyun, did you take care of him?" Doyoung asked both of them.

"I'm feeling better. I think my fever has gone down a bit. And I also slept for a while" Jungwoo smiled a bit, turning around so he was facing Doyoung.

"And of course I took care of him. He even said that sleeping on top of me made it one of the best naps he has had in a while" Jaehyun said proudly.

"Hyung, stop with that, please" Jungwoo blushed and tried to cover his face.

"Stop teasing the kid. He has to get better not to raise his fever again because he gets flustered" Doyoung said.

"Hyung!" Jungwoo said and Jaehyun and Doyoung laughed.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop. But are you really feeling better?" Doyoung asked again, just to be sure.

"Yes, hyung. I'm feeling better" He said and pouted.

"And where are you going now? I'm not letting you go alone when you are sick like this. Even if your fever has gone down a bit it can raise again and you shouldn't be alone if that happens" Doyoung said.

"Jaehyun-hyung told me that I could go to his house because both of us are alone in our houses for today" Jungwoo felt bad for lying, even more if he was lying to them, but he really didn't want to go back to his house. He knew that if he went back alone, his parents would find that as an easy opportunity to hurt him and he wouldn't be able to recover or treat his injuries. His parents never left the house if there weren't any holidays, so he wasn't alone. 

When things like this happened, he usually went to Ten's house for a few days and left the door of his room locked so his parents thought that he was there. But today, Jaehyun had offered him to take care of him and to give him a place to stay, and he was really really grateful for that.

"Then, I'm coming too if it's okay with both of you" Doyoung said.

"It's more than okay for me, hyung" Jungwoo said while hugging him.

"You know you're always welcome to my house, hyung" Jaehyun smiled and showed his dimples.

"Okay, then let's get going. The others are waiting for us outside" Doyoung said, sitting up in the bed and dragging Jungwoo with him. Jungwoo groaned but sat up too. Jaehyun got up and got his and Jungwoo's things and carried them.

"Hyung, make sure he doesn't fall or faint again. That wouldn't be good for my health. I'll grab his things" Jaehyun said.

"Okay, I'll get my bag" Doyoung got up but before he could grab it, Jaehyun had already taken it for him.

"Don't worry about it, I'll carry it too" Jaehyun said and took the bag as if it weighed nothing.

"It will be too heavy" Doyoung whined.

"It's okay, hyung. I'm strong" Jaehyun said and laughed.

"Okay, but if it's too heavy don't complain" Doyoung said and helped Jungwoo get up. He felt a little dizzy, but not as much as before. Either way, Doyoung just put an arm around him just in case he would get dizzy again.

They went out of the highschool and saw their friends waiting there for them. When they arrived, all of them talked with Jungwoo and asked them how he was feeling. He tried to answer to all of them and then he explained to Ten that he was staying at Jaehyun's house.

"Jaehyun, Doyoung, you better take care of him or I'll shave your heads when you sleep" He said. They all laughed but they also knew that, knowing Ten, it could become a reality.

After assuring everyone that he was okay, Jungwoo could finally go with Doyoung and Jaehyun to the latter's house.

He didn't like being sick, but he knew that he loved spending time with Doyoung and Jaehyun.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun and Doyoung take care of a sick Jungwoo and reach some important conclussions about what may be happening to him. Also, kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I have another chapter finally :D sorry for taking so long, and it probably doesn't even matter to anyone, but I have been pretty busy lately and not feeling my best.
> 
> I hope you like this chapter and feel free to leave some comments and kudos if you want to because that makes me very happy :3

The three of them walked to Jaehyun's house. Doyoung kept an arm around Jungwoo during the whole walk, asking if he was feeling okay every few minutes. Jaehyun was carrying their things and he still hadn't complained about it. Jungwoo was feeling a little tired, but he knew that Jaehyun's house was close, so he didn't say anything.

They were talking about what they had done in school and Jaehyun kept teasing Doyoung for having to go to his classes.

"Well, you were lucky that you could stay with Jungwoo. I would've liked to see you trying to concentrate in your class while knowing that he was sick" Doyoung whined.

"I mean, of course I wouldn't be able to concentrate. It's Jungwoo who we're talking about" Jaehyun chuckled.

Jungwoo was confused. He knew that they were friends, but they were too worried about him. He didn't think that him being sick was something to be worried about. Either way, he just ignored those thoughts and focused on the warmth that spreaded through his chest because of that comment.

In a few more minutes, they were already in Jaehyun's house. Jaehyun let the bags on the floor and got his keys to open the door. Once they were inside, they saw Sunhee approaching them. 

"Hi, Sunhee" Doyoung said, smiling when the cat got near them. Jungwoo knelt down and started petting her.

"Traitor" Jaehyun said looking at Sunhee with a frown while going inside the house to let their things on the floor. 

After a few moments, Doyoung and Jungwoo entered as well and Doyoung let the younger rest on the couch, noticing how he was leaning more and more on him.

"Are you feeling well?" Doyoung asked while sitting down next to Jungwoo.

"Yes, I'm fine" Jungwoo said a little out of breath. Maybe the nap had helped but he still felt weak and dizzy and his head was starting to hurt again.

"Here" Jaehyun had disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. Jungwoo took it and drank it, thanking him after finishing. 

"Jaehyun, are we cooking today?" Doyoung asked. Jaehyun blushed a bit after hearing what Doyoung had said. It sounded like this was something usual, like something they did everyday. And Jaehyun liked the way that sounded.

"Yes. My mother left in a hurry yesterday so she couldn't prepare anything for me" Jaehyun said while sitting down on the other side of Jungwoo.

"If you don't mind me asking, hyung, where is your mother? Did something happen yesterday?" Jungwoo asked carefully. He was curious but he didn't want to make Jaehyun uncomfortable.

"Oh, it's okay, don't worry. My mother has to travel a lot because of her job, so she is out most of the time. She usually comes back in the weekends and then she leaves on Monday or Tuesday but yesterday, she received a call telling her that she had to go earlier than planned. Most of the time she leaves some food prepared for a few days, but she didn't have the time yesterday" Jaehyun answered smiling.

"Wow, she must be busy" Jungwoo said more to himself. He knew that Jaehyun's mother probably wasn't like his parents. He just knew from the way his hyung was talking about her, so lovingly and fondly. But he wished his parents were out of his house more frequently and not only during the holidays.

"Yes, but she always make sure to spend time with me when she's here. She's great. You should come here one day to meet her. I'm sure she would love you" Jaehyun chuckled. The two of them were very polite and respectful so he didn't have a doubt that his mother would treat them as if they were his sons as well.

"Sure. Tell me the day and I'll be here to tell her how many classes his son is losing" Doyoung said with a playful grin. Jungwoo giggled at Jaehyun's face, and before he could say anything, Doyoung continued talking. "It's a joke. I know that you had your reasons" Doyoung smiled while putting his arm around Jungwoo's shoulder. The younger whined a bit and crossed his arms, making the two older laugh.

"Now, now, don't whine like that. You know that I don't mind it" Jaehyun smiled.

"But it's my fault that you keep skipping classes and that isn't good" Jungwoo pouted and laid his head in Doyoung's shoulder. The headache was coming back.

"The nurse literally told me to stay and she even made sure that I had a justified reason to tell the professors. My classmates will tell me what they did. It's okay" Jaehyun said and pinched Jungwoo's cheek.

"Wait, now that I think about it, are you alone most of the time of the week?" Doyoung asked suddenly.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, some weeks my mother is here with me, but most of the time I'm on my own. Why?" Jaehyun asked.

"You could have told us and we would come here with you" Doyoung said. He didn't like the idea of Jaehyun being alone most of the time.

"Ah, don't worry about that. Sicheng usually comes here and we spend the afternoon together. Taeyong and Johnny come here, too. And most of the time I'm with my brother too" Jaehyun said.

"Wait, you have a brother?" Jungwoo and Doyoung said at the same time.

"Yes, but right now he's with my father in Jeju" Jaehyun chuckled. "His name is Jaemin and he is younger than us. He's 13" Jaehyun said smiling. 

"Ah, so Jaemin is your brother!" Doyoung said, making Jaehyun and Jungwoo jump. "My brother is his friend" Doyoung said. How could he know Jaehyun's brother without knowing that he was Jaehyun's brother?

"Who's your brother?" Jaehyun asked. Jaemin had a few friends, so he didn't exactly know who was Doyoung's brother.

"Jeno" Doyoung answered.

"Ah, Jeno! He has been here sometimes" Jaehyun remembered Jeno. Polite, calm and very respectful. It made sense that he was Doyoung's brother, even if the oldest of the two liked to tease him a lot.

"Now I feel stupid because I know Jaemin as well and I didn't know you were his brother" Doyoung said, laughing a bit.

"Both of us are idiots" Jaehyun laughed as well.

"And why are your father and Jaemin in Jeju?" Jungwoo asked from his place in Doyoung's shoulder.

"Well, my parents divorced when I was little and my brother and I started living with my mother here in Seoul, but my father went to Jeju and we have to go to see him for a few weeks in the year. Usually, we go together, but he had to go alone this time because I have some exams" Jaehyun seemed a little annoyed now.

"Wow, that's a pity" Jungwoo said looking down.

"Not really. The less I see that man, the better" Jaehyun said, now definetely annoyed.

"Why?" Doyoung asked. He had only seen Jaehyun angry when someone was doing something to Jungwoo, so it surprised him seeing Jaehyun like that while talking about his father.

"He did horrible things to my mother. He cheated on her even when my mother was completely in love with him and he wasn't even a little bit sorry for doing it. My mother was devastated, but even after what he did, she wants me and my brother to see him sometimes so we don't live without knowing anything about him. If I was the one to choose, Jaemin would never see that horrible man. He was very young when that happened and he doesn't remember much of it, but he knows what happened and he dislikes him as much as I do" Jaehyun was breathing quickly after he finished talking. Doyoung and Jungwoo were out of words after that. They didn't know about that part of Jaehyun's life.

"I-I'm sorry for asking. It must be something difficult to talk about" Doyoung said while taking Jaehyun's hand without even noticing.

"Yes, me too. I'm sorry if we were too nosy, hyung" Jungwoo looked down. He had thought that Jaehyun had a very good life but it seemed like he had problems as well. Obviously, everyone has troubles in their lives, but he hadn't expected Jaehyun to have some issues with his father too.

"It's okay. I mean, what he did it's not okay by any means, but I had to tell you at some point. I trust you, guys. And that's an important part of my life and people who are close to me deserve to know" Jaehyun managed to calm down and then, he smiled to them. He could tell they were a bit guilty but Jaehyun was glad that he had told them.

"Thanks for trusting us. That must be a very personal thing" Doyoung said.

"Well, I don't talk about it everyday and at the time, I felt really bad, but it also made me the person I am today. Why do you think that I don't believe in love?" Jaehyun asked.

It was quite funny seeing Jungwoo and Doyoung's faces change completely after his statement, but he couldn't laugh.

"So that's why..." Jungwoo whispered.

"Yup, it marked me and I've had that mindset since I was very young" Jaehyun sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that" Doyoung squished Jaehyun's hand, hoping he could feel better about it. Jaehyun smiled and shrugged.

"I'm okay now. I'm more sorry to my mother. She had to deal with being heartbroken while taking care of two children alone. I was too small to help her, but now I can take care of Jaemin and she can go to work feeling less worried" Jaehyun really appreciated his mother. She had been able to take care of them while working as much as she could. She will always look up to her because of that.

"Hyung, if you need anything, and I mean anything, you can talk to us and we'll try to help" Jungwoo was looking at him with such sincere eyes that Jaehyun knew he was being really serious about what he was saying. Doyoung nodded too and Jaehyun felt really happy and content just with the sight of it. Those two would really kill him one day with how happy he felt whenever he was with them.

"Thanks, and I'll tell you whenever I have any problems. You know that you just signed up to coming here some afternoons to look after Jaemin, right?" Jaehyun chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'll bring Jeno and everything will be solved. He's a good kid. He'll make sure that Jaemin isn't destroying the house" Doyoung said, very sure of himself.

"Oh, you don't know how convincing Nana can be. He can make the most well-behaved person in the planet turn this house into a chaos. Even Jeno won't be able to stop him" He laughed after talking. His brother wasn't a bad person. He was really kind and he always worried about others. He was really loving as well and he gave the best hugs, but he could be a little devil too.

"Jeno isn't like that. He wouldn't agree with Jaemin that easily" Doyoung was sure that Jeno wouldn't let himself do anything if he knew it was something bad. Jeno was really responsible and, even if he was quiet and didn't like shouting, he never let anyone make fun of him or his friends.

Jaehyun and Doyoung continued bickering and Jungwoo just watched them with a soft smile in his lips. He didn't know when or how, but he had ended up laying on top of Doyoung with his head in his shoulder. The headache was back and he was feeling the cold and hot sensation he had been feeling all day come back too, so he probably had a fever again. 

He closed his eyes and got closer to Doyoung, who passed an arm around his body without even noticing. He fell asleep again hearing the voices of Doyoung and Jaehyun that, surprisingly, didn't sound loud or unpleasant but comforting and calming. He hoped that, when he woke up, he wouldn't be feeling bad like before. He had had enough of that already.

* * *

Doyoung was talking to Jaehyun when he felt a weight in his body. He knew that Jungwoo was laying on him, but now all his weight was on top of him. He looked down and saw that Jungwoo had his eyes closed. Asleep. Well, he needed that to get better.

"Jae, keep your voice down. Jungwoo's sleeping" Doyoung said and ran his hand through Jungwoo's hair, feeling his forehead with his hand. He frowned when he felt the skin way too hot. Jungwoo's fever had gone down before going out of the school. They had put a thermometer on him and felt relieved knowing that the fever was almost gone. But it seemed like that wouldn't last for long.

"Oh, he fell asleep again?" Jaehyun said, now in a lower voice. They had been talking a little bit too loud before, so they had probably given Jungwoo a headache.

"And I think his fever is rising again. We should cook something and eat. He can't take any medicine without eating before" Doyoung now felt Jungwoo shivering a bit. Yup, the fever was back definitely.

"Yeah, that's probably the best thing we can do. Lay him here. I'll bring a blanket" Jaehyun got up from the couch and went to his bedroom. There, he got a thick and warm blanket to make sure Jungwoo wasn't cold.

When he came back, Doyoung had laid Jungwoo on the couch and was now with his phone. 

"I'm asking Ten if Jungwoo's allergic to something just in case he can't take some medicines" Doyoung said and put his phone in the table.

Jaehyun hummed and covered Jungwoo with the blanket. The sleeping boy stopped shivering after a few seconds.

"Let's cook something" Jaehyun said and Doyoung followed him.

\- - -  
They were in the kitchen preparing the food they had decided before. Jaehyun was cutting some vegetables to make a salad and Doyoung was preparing some soup.

They were working mostly in silence so they wouldn't wake Jungwoo up. Jaehyun then remembered what Jungwoo had said that morning while he was waking up.

"Hyung?"

"Hmm?" 

"I have to tell you something. It's related to Jungwoo" Jaehyun said almost whispering.

"Is it something bad?" Doyoung's tone of voice changed drastically.

"Well, I don't know if it's bad, but he said something that sounded really weird" Jaehyun said. "This morning, when I was taking care of him, he told me something that had me thinking. I woke him up because we had to leave when the classes ended. So, he was half-asleep and I was asking him silly questions, just to wake him up. However, I told him that he should go home to rest and get better but then he said that his house isn't home, that he doesn't like it" Jaehyun was now remembering Jungwoo's words. What did he mean by that?

"That his house doesn't feel like home? That he doesn't like it?" Doyoung was thinking about those words. He didn't know why he would say something like that in the first place, and it was bothering him because he felt like there was something really wrong with that.

"Yes. And I thought that he didn't know what he was saying because he wasn't even fully awake, but then, when he was fully aware of what I was asking, he told me again that he didn't want to go to his house and that he would probably go to Ten's house instead. He told me it was because he was alone and his parents weren't there, but when I suggested going to his house instead of mine, he told me he didn't want to go there. He was really set on not going home today, hyung, and I don't know if what he told me is the real reason" Jaehyun was sad. Yes, maybe Jungwoo was telling the truth and he preferred going somewhere else today, but he had really adamant in not going home. He didn't know why, but he was almost completely sure that Jungwoo was lying to him. That there was something more behind what he said. He didn't want to jump into conclussions, but everything was really suspicious.

Both of them fell in a tense silence. Thinking and reflecting. Jungwoo's situation seemed really complicated and, judging by Ten's words, there had to be something more behind what Jungwoo was going through.

"You don't think... that someone in his house is treating him bad... right?" Doyoung asked carefully. It was the first thing that came to his mind. Even if he didn't like that option, a lot of things would make sense if that was the case. The bruises, the eyebags, his extreme shyness and lack of trust in other people, his eagerness to go home before it was too late because he feared something or rather, someone. It seemed a little extreme, but it wasn't completely impossible.

"I-I didn't want to think about that possibility but..." it had come to Jaehyun's mind more than once when he thought about some weird behaviours that Jungwoo had showed. He was really reserved and always thinking that someone was going to hurt him. He hadn't hung out with them in the weekends and he had never invited them to his house. And the bruises he had almost everyday. At first, he had thought that it was because of the bullying. He had seen those kids hit Jungwoo more than once, so it was possible. But, as time went by, Jaehyun and his friends had been protecting Jungwoo and the kids that were usually bothering him couldn't even lay a finger on him if they were close. In his class, Jungwoo was alone but he didn't think the teachers would let a kid get hit by the others in the middle of the class. 

Everytime they asked Jungwoo, he answered that it had been an accident or that he had fallen onto something. That could have happened once or twice, but almost every day of the week? 

Jaehyun shivered at the thought of something like that happening to Jungwoo. He already had a lot on his plate with how his classmates treated him at school. He didn't deserve any of that. And if there was also someone making his life a living hell in his house... Jaehyun didn't want to think about that.

They were both startled when they heard a voice.

"H-hyung?" Jungwoo said weakly entering the kitchen with the blanket over his shoulders. He was leaning heavily on the frame of the door and he was shaking even with the blanket.

"Oh, Jungwoo, what are you doing up?" Doyoung approached the younger and guided him to sit on one of the chairs. The younger boy was mostly dragged there because he didn't have any strength and he was feeling quite dizzy as well.

When he sat down, he held the blanket tightly around himself and started speaking.

"I didn't know where you were... I was scared" Jungwoo mumbled and looked at them. Again, his eyes looked unfocused and that was a signal for Jaehyun and Doyoung to know they had to do something to make him feel better.

"Sorry. We were just preparing some food. Are you hungry?" Jaehyun asked softly. He put his hand in Jungwoo's forehead and cursed internally when he felt his temperature. 

Jungwoo shook his head and sighed, relieved at the coolness that Jaehyun's hand emited.

"You have to eat something to get better, Jungwoo. You can take some medicine and then you can sleep, okay?" Doyoung said trying to convince the younger. 

"B-but my stomach feels weird. I'm not hungry" Jungwoo was looking at them again and now there were even tears in his eyes.

"Just a tiny little bit, okay? Do it for us, please" Jaehyun pleaded. He didn't know how Jungwoo would get better without taking any medicine because the fever kept coming back.

Jungwoo huffed and covered his face with the blanket. Jaehyun and Doyoung looked at each other. Jungwoo wasn't probably going to say anything, so they just let him be and continued preparing the food.

"We'll keep talking later" Doyoung murmured to Jaehyun so Jungwoo didn't hear a thing. Jaehyun blushed at the proximity, but nodded anyways.

They finished the food in silence and served it, preparing a small plate for Jungwoo. He really had to eat something.

Jaehyun shook him gently and Jungwoo looked up at him.

"Let's eat something and then you can go to sleep" he smiled at Jungwoo who just nodded.

They started eating and Jaehyun and Doyoung talked about everything and anything. Jungwoo kept watching and listening to them, but he didn't have enough energy to talk too.

Jungwoo managed to eat half of his plate before saying he was too full to eat anything more. Jaehyun and Doyoung were satisfied with that even if it wasn't as good as they wanted. At least Jungwoo could take something for his fever.

"Take this. It'll make you feel better and Ten told me you didn't have any problems with medicine" Doyoung put two pills in front of Jungwoo who eyed them for a moment. When Doyoung and Jaehyun were getting ready to tell him something, Jungwoo took them and drank the rest of his glass of water.

"Can I go back to sleep now?" Jungwoo said and both Jaehyun and Doyoung cooed out loud. He was pouting and his eyes looked huge and glossy from the fever, which was also making him blush. His cheeks were a cute red colour and and his hair was messy making him look even more adorable.

"Yes baby, you can go back to sleep" Jaehyun chuckled and brushed Jungwoo's hair off his eyes. Jungwoo just closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

"But I don't want to sleep alone. I'm cold" He said and pouted. Doyoung and Jaehyun smiled. God, that kid was just too adorable for his own good. 

"Well, Doyoung-hyung can go and lay with you while I clean this" Jaehyun suggested.

"But I want to cuddle with both" Jungwoo whined again.

"Then we go first and Jaehyunnie can join us later. How does that sound?" Doyoung asked.

"Only if you promise" Jungwoo looked at Jaehyun who just laughed and assured him that he would join their cuddle session.

Doyoung and Jungwoo got up from their chairs and Jaehyun stopped them.

"Go to my bedroom. We'll be more comfortable there" Jaehyun said. "Jungwoo knows which one it's mine" 

"Okay" Doyoung said and followed Jungwoo as the younger walked to their destination. 

When they were there, Doyoung pulled up the blankets and laid down, leaving space for both Jaehyun and Jungwoo. Jungwoo immediately fell into his arms, snuggling as much as he could. Doyoung just smiled at how the brown hair tickled his chin. He put his arms around Jungwoo, making sure to cover them both with the blankets.

Jungwoo sighed happily. Doyoung was giving him the warmth that he needed and it was really comfortable. He hoped Jaehyun would join them soon too so they could feel complete. It could be weird to some people, but Jungwoo felt that he needed both Jaehyun and Doyoung to really feel well. Of course, them as individuals were amazing and made Jungwoo feel secure, but he loved when the three of them were together.

After a few minutes, Jaehyun entered the room and smiled at the sight. Doyoung and Jungwoo were looking at him waiting for him to lay down with him. 

"Hyung, come here. We've been waiting" Jungwoo whined and Jaehyun laughed.

"You get pretty demanding when you're sick, huh?" And Jungwoo just blushed and hid his face in Doyoung's chest.

Jaehyun closed the door and the curtains so the room was dark but light enough so they could see a little. He got into the bed and put his body right next to Jungwoo who sighed contently.

Now, Jungwoo thought, it's perfect. Yes, maybe he had a nasty fever and his head still throbbed, but right now he could fall asleep for three days straight. 

Jaehyun and Doyoung smiled, happy to have Jungwoo beside them after everything that had happened that day. 

They fell asleep after a while with each other in their arms.

* * *

Jaehyun woke up at the feeling of something moving beside him. He opened his eyes slowly, trying to identify what was between his arms. At first, he thought about his cat, but she didn't like to be hold while sleeping. He blinked a few times and saw Jungwoo and Doyoung sleeping by his side. Then he remembered and hugged them both closer.

He tried to continue sleeping, thinking that one of them had probably moved in their sleep and that was what woke him up, but he felt movement again. 

This time, he was sure that it had been Jungwoo. He looked closely at the younger and noticed that he was shivering and trying to get closer to him and Doyoung at the same time, which was difficult because they had separated a bit while sleeping. 

Jaehyun got closer to Jungwoo and hugged him tighter, to which Jungwoo stopped moving. He continued shivering so Jaehyun put his hand on the other's forehead. It was hotter than it was before and that made Jaehyun worry. His fever must be higher than before.

He was about to wake up Doyoung when Jungwoo stopped him.

"D-don't wake h-him up. It'll be o-over soon" Jungwoo said and turned aroung so he was facing Jaehyun. Jaehyun could see in the dark room his eyes, still shinning a bit even if it was dark. Jungwoo's cheeks were red from the fever and his hair was sticking a bit to his forehead.

"Jungwoo, the fever is worse. We have to do something to bring it down" Jaehyun said and brushed Jungwoo's hair.

"I-it's always like t-this. It always goes high b-before going down. It's okay. It'll be b-better in a while" His teeth were chattering but he was still as stubborn as always.

"Are you sure?" Jaehyun asked worried.

Jungwoo nodded and put Doyoung's arms tighter around him. The oldest boy just buried his nose in Jungwoo's hair and continued sleeping.

"Go to sleep. You have to rest" Jaehyun said and, without thinking too much about it, kissed Jungwoo's forehead. Jungwoo was surprised by the act and looked at Jaehyun, who only then noticed what he had done.

"Oh, sorry. I-I wasn't thinking-" Jaehyun started but Jungwoo interrupted him. 

"No, it's okay. I... I liked it" Jungwoo said and smiled looking down. Jaehyun blushed at Jungwoo's words but then smiled.

"Oh, then it's okay if I do it whenever I want, right?" He asked and Jungwoo nodded.

"Go back to sleep" he said and kissed Jungwoo's forehead again. Jungwoo just chuckled and closed his eyes, welcoming sleep again.

Jaehyun stayed awake until he felt Jungwoo's fever break. He felt how he started sweating and sighed in relief. Just as the younger had said, it had been just a while before the fever went down.

With that, he felt relieved enough to go back to sleep.

* * *

When they woke up again, it was to the sound of Sunhee meowing loudly. Doyoung opened his eyes and looked at the clock on his wrist. 8:30 PM. Wow, they had slept for a while. He looked at Jungwoo who had turned and was now facing a sleeping Jaehyun. 

He touched Jungwoo's face and sighed in relief when he felt no high temperature. That gesture, however, woke Jungwoo up.

"Hmm?" He asked confused and looked around until his eyes met Doyoung's. "Oh, hyung" He smiled.

"Hello, big baby. Sorry for waking you. I just wanted to check you fever. How are you feeling?" Doyoung asked.

"I'm feeling better. I think my fever is gone" Jungwoo was still between Jaehyun's arms and he had woken Jaehyun accidentally.

Jaehyun yawned and squished Jungwoo, making the younger whine. Doyoung laughed a bit and got up. Sunhee looked up at him, meowing again

"We've been sleeping for quite a while. I think Sunhee is hungry" Jaehyun and Jungwoo got up as well and followed Doyoung to the kitchen.

There, Jaehyun made some tea and brought some snacks to eat because they were hungry and Doyoung fed Sunhee. They sat in the table and started eating in silence until Jaehyun started talking.

"Hyung, did you know that Jungwoo likes kisses?" Jaehyun had an amused smile in his face and Jungwoo's face became a deep red.

"Hyung, no" Jungwoo whined and Doyoung looked confused.

"Oh, is that so? Why didn't I know about that?" Doyoung smiled mischievously, obviously wanting to tease the smaller boy.

"Not you too" Jungwoo just put his head in his hands and sighed.

Jaehyun hummed enjoying what was happening. "Yup. We have to make sure to give him plenty. He can't be sad anymore".

"That's our mission now. Make sure he's happy and healthy" Doyoung bumped his fist with Jaehyun's, making Jungwoo even more embarrassed than before.

They finished eating and Jungwoo took his medicine again. He was sure that his fever would come back, but at least the medicine was starting to work. 

"Doyoung-hyung, why don't you sleep here as well?" Jaehyun asked. He would be really happy if the older was there with them.

"Sure, I'll tell my mother. But I don't have any clothes here" Doyoung said, getting his phone out of his pocket and texting his mother.

"Don't worry. I'll lend you some" Jaehyun said getting up. "Why don't we take a shower and then we can have some dinner?"

"That's okay with me" Jungwoo said. He was finally without a fever so there was less risk of him falling while showering or something like that.

"Sure. I'm staying here tonight" Doyoung said after his mother texted him to be careful and not cause any problems. Jaehyun and Jungwoo smiled, really happy with the statement.

"Great. Now, who wants to shower first?" Jaehyun asked.

"Jungwoo should go first. It will be easier for him now that his fever went down and it may come back in a while" Doyoung suggested.

"That makes sense. Jungwoo, to the shower" Jaehyun picked Jungwoo up and threw him over his shoulder, making the younger whine in protest. Jaehyun walked to his bedroom with Jungwoo cursing lowly and Doyoung laughing behind them.

Once they arrived, Jaehyun put Jungwoo down and started looking for some clothes to give to them. Doyoung was as tall as him and just a little bit more skinny than him because he didn't have as much muscles as Jaehyun. His own clothes would probably fit well. Jungwoo, on the other side, was remarkably smaller than him. He wasn't that much shorter, but he was really skinny, so his clothes would surely be big on him. Jaehyun thought about giving him some of his old clothes that would probably fit better, but then he thought about Jungwoo wearing one of his hoodies, that would look very big on him, and that made his heart beat faster. That was a sight he wanted to see, so he chose to give him his clothes just to see how cute it would look.

He gave Jungwoo a blue hoodie and black sweatpants so he could be comfortable. He also gave him one of his white t-shirts so he could take the hoodie off if he was too hot because of the fever. For Doyoung, he chose his red hoodie (one of his favourites) and another pair of sweatpants. He also got some underwear and socks and turned to them.

"I think these would fit you two. They may be a little bit big, but unless you want Jaemin's clothes it's all I have" He gave them the clothes and they thanked them, grateful for Jaehyun's kindness.

Jaehyun guided them to the bathroom and explained where everything was and then left Jungwoo to shower.

While the younger was in the bathroom, he and Doyoung started making dinner. Sunhee joined them in the kitchen too and, before they knew it, Jungwoo was walking into the kitchen, looking warm and relaxed.

It bad been a while since he had been able to shower with warm water and he loved it, but he couldn't help but feel like he was taking advantage of Jaehyun, so he hurried up and finished quickly. Jaehyun's clothes were big on him, but the hoodie was soft and warm and he felt really relaxed with Jaehyun's clothes on.

Jaehyun and Doyoung smiled at how cute Jungwoo looked. The younger was practically drowning in the hoodie and his hair was ruffled and messy, but he looked comfortable. 

Jaehyun was blushing a bit. Yup, giving that hoodie to Jungwoo was a good decision. He saw Doyoung blushing too. Definetely a good decision.

"You can shower now, hyung" Jungwoo approached them and hugged Doyoung. That gesture surprised them, but Doyoung appreciated it.

"You're feeling better now, aren't you?" Doyoung asked and hugged Jungwoo back. Jungwoo nodded and separated from him after a few seconds.

"Go take a shower. We'll finish dinner" Doyoung said to Jaehyun who just nodded and went to the bathroom. 

He finished quickly and went to the kitchen where he saw Doyoung and Jungwoo still cooking. 

"I'm finished" Jaehyun said and Doyoung and Jungwoo turned to look at him.

"Well, that was fast. Don't start eating without me" Doyoung joked and went to take a shower as well.

After a few minutes, he was ready too and they were eating their dinner. Jungwoo started feeling the fever coming back, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to ruin the night, so he just thought he could sleep later.

They cleaned the kitchen and sat in the couch. Jaehyun had put some movie and they started watching it out of boredom. They were almost cuddling, their limbs linked together and two blankets thrown over them. 

Jungwoo was getting cold, so he just got closer to Jaehyun and Doyoung. The two older boys didn't seem to notice it, so he just stayed there relaxed. 

They watched TV for a while until they decided it was time to sleep. Jungwoo and Doyoung were almost asleep by the time Jaehyun turned off the TV.

"Let's go to bed. You two are about to fall asleep" Jaehyun chuckled and took the blanket off. Jungwoo and Doyoung whined at the loss, but got up quickly. The sooner they got to bed, the better.

They washed their teeth and made sure to close the door properly before going to the bedroom again. They had decided to sleep in Jaehyun's bed again because it woud be easier and if Jungwoo was feeling worse he could just wake one of them up. It wasn't like the idea of sleeping together again made their hearts flutter, nope.

Once they were all inside the covers, Jaehyun touched Jungwoo's forehead. He was burning up again and Jaehyun didn't like that.

"Jungwoo, wake us up if you're not feeling well, okay? Even if it's just a bit, wake us" Doyoung said and Jungwoo nodded, getting even closer to him. Jaehyun just hugged him from behind trying to give him some warmth and Jungwoo sighed.

Suddenly, he got an idea. He planted a kiss in the crown of Jungwoo's head and smiled when he felt Jungwoo let out a soft sigh. Doyoung, who had seen it, also kissed Jungwoo's forehead, which left the younger smiling.

It had been a pretty tiring day and they all were exhausted, so they fell asleep quickly, hoping that the following day wouldn't be as eventful.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys finally realize some things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long in this ;-; the situation has bee difficult where I live and I haven't had time.
> 
> Have you seen the comeback? It was amazing and we have to work to give the boys the wins they deserve
> 
> Stay healthy and, as always, thanks for the kudos and comments ♡

Jungwoo had managed to fall asleep thanks to the comfort that Doyoung and Jaehyun brought to him. However, he woke up after a while, his head pounding and his stomach aching. 

He knew that his fever was going to rise when they went to sleep, but he had hoped to just sleep through it. He wasn't that lucky though, and now he was feeling terrible.

He could feel the food he had eaten earlier turning around in his stomach making him feel nauseous. The younger wasn't used to eating so much food in one day. It wasn't like he didn't ever eat, but he usually ate smaller portions of food. Whenever he was at his house, he just grabbed whatever was laying around in the kitchen or prepared something simple like a salad or a sandwich and there were days where he didn't eat anything at all because he arrived late at his house and he didn't want to risk getting caught. When they had been eating dinner, he had known he shouldn't eat that much food, but Doyoung and Jaehyun were great at cooking, so he really couldn't waste the opportunity.

Jungwoo tried to get into a more comfortable position, breathing through his nose to control the nausea. He tried to do that for a few minutes until he noticed that it wasn't helping at all. He started panicking a little when he realized that he was definetely going to throw up.

He had to get to the bathroom, and he had to get there soon! He tried to escape the grip that both Jaehyun and Doyoung had on him as carefully as possible but also quickly. He had to rush, he was feeling his throat start to burn with the urge of vomiting.

He finally escaped from between Jaehyun and Doyoung and rushed to the bathroom as quickly as he could. He had a hand covering his mouth, fearing that he wouldn't be able to make it. 

Luckily, he found the bathroom just in time. Some tears escaped his eyes as he emptied his stomach painfully. He started feeling guilty and embarrassed. How would he face Jaehyun after this? His embarrassement grew when he heard a voice calling him. A voice he knew very well.

\- - -

Jaehyun was suddenly woken up by some movement between his arms. He opened his eyes when he felt his arms touch the bed when he had been hugging something before.

In front of him, Doyoung laid with his eyes fluttering open. He probably had also been woken up just like him. Between them, there was an empty space on the bed. Where was Jungwoo? Wasn't he asleep before?

"Jae, where's Woo?" Doyoung asked, now rubbing his eyes.

Jaehyun tried to ignore how cute the action looked and focused on his question instead.

"I don't know. He was asleep before-" He stopped talking when he heard a noise coming from the corridor. He turned his head to the door to find it open and some light coming from the corridor.

Without a word, Jaehyun got up from the bed and started walking to the door. Doyoung followed him, also suspecting what was happening.

They walked in silence toward the bathroom, where the light and the noise were coming from. They entered the bathroom and saw Jungwoo with tears running down his face, throwing up in the toilet.

"Jungwoo" Doyoung said in surprise as he approached him. The younger had stopped throwing up and looked at him with big shiny eyes.

"H-hyung, I'm sorry, I-I'm sorry" he said shivering, more tears coming out of his eyes.

"It's okay baby, it's okay. Are you still feeling sick?" Doyoung said while caressing his back. The younger just nodded and before he could say anything, he had to turn his head back to the toilet as another wave of nausea hit him.

"Shh, it's alright. Let it all out. You'll feel better" Jaehyun said, putting a wet towel in his neck. The younger whimpered and shivered at the cold.

They stayed like that for a while. Jungwoo emptying his stomach and Jaehyun and Doyoung comforting him, or at least trying to.

After what felt like an eternity, Jungwoo stopped throwing up and could finally breathe. Doyoung's hand was still on his back, going up and down comforting him. Jaehyun had started brushing his hair out of his face. 

"There you go" Doyoung said when Jungwoo tried to breathe calmly.

"Do you feel better?" Jaehyun asked as he flushed the toilet.

Jungwoo nodded shakily, his head still down. He really couldn't look at him. He felt so embarrassed. He probably looked like a mess and he had just thrown up in his toilet.

"Hey, look at me" Jaehyun said as he cupped the younger's chin to make him look up. Jungwoo met his eyes and looked down again. He could feel more tears forming in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Jaehyun asked as he hugged Jungwoo.

"I'm s-sorry. I j-just threw up h-here and now I-I'm disgusting" he said between hiccups, trying to push Jaehyun away. But he wasn't nearly as strong as Jaehyun, so the older kept him close.

"Jungwoo, baby, it's okay. I don't mind any of that. I'm just worried about you. Are you feeling better now? Do you want anything?" Jaehyun asked, trying to calm the younger.

"Your fever is worse again, isn't it?" Doyoug asked after putting his hand on Jungwoo's neck.

"I-I'm fine. My head hurts a bit and my stomach still hurts, but it was worse before. I think throwing up helped" Jungwoo said, sniffling and separating from Jaehyun.

"Do you want something like water? You can't take any medicine yet" Doyoung said.

"Yeah, water would be great. But... can I brush my teeth before? I feel gross" Jungwoo looked down again, with a blush in his cheeks that wasn't from the fever.

"Of course. Do you want to take a shower or are you okay?" Jaehyun asked.

"I don't want to bother you so much..." Jungwoo mumbled.

"I told you that it's fine. Wait for a second, I'll get you some clothes" Jaehyun said and rushed to his room. He took one of his hoodies, another pair of pants and some underwear for Jungwoo.

"Here" He said and gave them to Jungwoo. The younger was still ashamed, so Jaehyun just ruffled his hair. "Don't worry so much, Jungwoo-yah" he smiled gently when Jungwoo looked at him.

Doyoung and Jaehyun left the bathroom, telling Jungwoo to call them if he started feeling bad. They went to the kitchen to drink some water and wait until Jungwoo was ready. Jaehyun yawned as he sat down beside Doyoung.

"Sleepy?" Doyoung asked as Jaehyun rested his head on the table. Jaehyun hummed and closed his eyes. Doyoung looked at the clock on the wall. 2:30 AM.

"We're lucky we don't have school tomorrow" He said as he carded his fingers through Jaehyun's soft hair. The younger hummed again relaxing under the older's touch.

There were a few minutes of silence until one of them spoke again.

"What will you do tomorrow, hyung?" Jaehyun asked softly. He was quite sleepy and Doyoung's caresses weren't helping because he wanted to stay awake until Jungwoo was with them again, just to make sure he was okay.

"I don't know. I'll probably go home in the morning but if you want I can come back and stay here with you and Jungwoo" He said when he saw the little frown in Jaehyun's face. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was pouting, but Doyoung found it really adorable.

"Well, I don't know if Jungwoo is going to stay here or not. Maybe he wants to go home when his parents arrive" Jaehyun said. "But either way, a bit of company is always welcomed" Jaehyun smiled.

"Judging by what you told me earlier, he may not want to go home. I don't know why he wouldn't want to go to his own house to rest and get better even if he was alone. I mean, we would have gone with him to his house if he had wanted to go there instead of coming here" Doyoung silently said, more to himself than to Jaehyun, who was half-asleep.

"The only thing we can do is ask him. When he finishes his shower I'll ask him if he wants to stay here tomorrow. Maybe we can spend the afternoon together if he wants" Jaehyun smiled just with the thought of that. He loved spending time with his friends, but when it came to Doyoung and Jungwoo, it was even more special.

"Sure. But even if he doesn't want to stay, I'll come here with you. Being alone for so long isn't good for you" Doyoung said.

"Oh? And what are you going to do, hyung? You'll come here and have fun with me?" Jaehyun asked with a chuckle. 

"I-I... Jaehyun, stop!" Doyoung stammered because of the sudden statement. He always got so flustered around Jaehyun that he even got angry at himself. He thought he was a rather quick and witty person when it came to things like these, but Jung Jaehyun always beats him.

"What? I didn't say anything. You're the one who's thinking weird things" Jaehyun laughed.

As they continued bickering, they didn't notice the small figure that was watching them from the door, peaking from behind it just so they didn't see him yet.

Jungwoo looked at them and suddenly felt sad, and kind of guilty. The two of them were always laughing around each other and, even if they were playfully fighting, they had a really good chemistry and enjoyed their time together.

'And then, I get in the middle and ruin everything' Jungwoo thought, smiling bitterly. 'Just look at them, awake so late in the night because you got sick and weren't able to even take care of yourself. You're just bothering them when they could be having fun without having to worry about you' he thought. 

They seemed so... happy. So free. Jungwoo couldn't stop thinking about it. Whenever they were together they had a good time, but whenever Jungwoo entered the situation, there was always something to worry about. Jungwoo felt bad for that. He felt like he was... intruding. Getting between them when he wasn't supposed to.

Jaehyun playfully hugged Doyoung's arm and Doyoung just smacked him gently, raising his voice even more. Jungwoo should tell them to keep the volume down because they would bother the neighbours, but they were in their own world. That tended to happen a lot. Jungwoo had noticed how Jaehyun and Doyoung looked at each other. How Doyoung's eyes would soften whenever Jaehyun smiled at him or how Jaehyun always tried to make Doyoung smile whenever the older was looking a bit down. And there was also something else that Jungwoo had seen between them.

Love. Jungwoo himself didn't know much about it. The only kind of love he knew was from his friends, especially from Ten, but he didn't know any other form of it. He hadn't been loved by his parents at all, or at least he didn't remember much, and romantic love wasn't even something he had thought about. But there was always something special between Jaehyun and Doyoung and, if even Jungwoo could see it, those two would have surely noticed as well.

That's why he sometimes felt like an intruder, like he shouldn't be between the two of them. He was sure that, in a short time, Doyoung and Jaehyun would probably start dating or at least getting closer. And he felt happy about it because they were amazing and they deserved to have someone who was equally amazing as their partner. But he couldn't help but also feel a little sad because he wasn't part of that. He didn't know why, but the thought of not being able to hang out with them as much as before made him feel sad. 

Maybe it was because he had some feeling for them. The idea of that didn't actually sound ridiculous to Jungwoo. Both of them had become a very important part in Jungwoo's life without him even noticing. However, he knew how everything would go. Doyoung and Jaehyun would get together and be happy, because that's what they deserved, but Jungwoo would have to watch from the side and be happy for them, because even if he wanted to, he knew that he wouldn't fit in there. So, even if he had feelings, which now that he thought about it, he probably had, those didn't matter at all because he simply didn't fit into the equation, as sad as it sounded.

It would hurt to forget, of course, but there were things that just couldn't be solved. He would have to try to bury those feeling as deep as he could, just to save himself a little part of the impact, but he knew that those probably would take some time to go away. 

He had the sudden urge to cry, because realizing that having feelings for not only one, but two of his best friends was hard but it was even harder to realize that he most likely wouldn't have a chance with either of them. However, he took a deep breath to calm himself and entered the kitchen properly. He tried to smile, to make it look like he was feeling better, when in fact he was feeling worse, emotionally speaking.

"Hyungs, I've finished" he said with a soft voice. The two older boys stopped their bickering to approach the younger.

"Are you feeling worse?" Doyoung asked, gently running his hand through Jungwoo's hair.

"What? No. I'm actually feeling a lot better now" he said, trying to smile again. "Why? Do I still look so terrible?" He asked with a chuckle, but deep inside, he felt bad. After seeing him like that, all disgusting from sweating and throwing up, they would most likely be a little aprehensive.

"Of course not, silly. You just look... sad? Like, not as bright as before?" Jaehyun tried to put into words what he was thinking, but it was difficult. From the moment Jungwoo had walked in, he had noticed that the smile on the younger's face didn't reach his eyes, like it was almost forced. And he was sure that Doyoung must have noticed too.

"Of course not, hyung. I'm just tired" he said as he yawned as if to prove the point.

"Are you sure?" Jaehyun asked. Jungwoo nodded, but he couldn't believe him completely.

"Then, we should go to sleep. You have to rest" Doyoung said, grabbing both boys by their arms and dragging them towards the bedroom.

"Go lay down. I'll swtich the lights off" he said.

Jaehyun laid down on the same spot as before, wating for Jungwoo to join him, but the younger kept looking at the bed, clearly conflicted.

"What's wrong?" Jaehyun asked as he patted the spot next to him. 

"I'm... Shouldn't I be sleeping in a different bed?" Jungwoo asked, his eyes looking down. 

"What? Why would you sleep in other bed if you had been sleeping here before?" Jaehyun asked, confused by the younger's attitude.

"I'm sick and I don't want you to get sick as well..." 

"Jungwoo, I think it's a bit late for that" Doyoung chuckled.

"Now, come here. I want to cuddle" Jaehyun said as he grabbed Jungwoo's arm and pulled him towards the bed.

The younger finally laid down on the bed, still not completely convinced with the whole idea. Inside his head, he was just thinking of ways of getting out of there. He shouldn't be there. Doyoung and Jaehyun deserved to be together without him in the middle.

Jaehyun reached out for him and brought him closer, hugging him like he had done before. Jungwoo relaxed into his arms almost immediately. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this, but maybe he could be just a little selfish, just for tonight.

Doyoung turned the lights off and laid down behind him, also hugging him. Yeah, maybe he could be just a tiny bit selfish.

But deep inside, he knew that these moments would stop. Really soon.

"Are you sure you're feeling better? You're so tense" Doyoung asked.

"Yes, hyung. I'm okay" He said, more to himself than to Doyoung.

\- - -

The night passed without any more complications and morning finally arrived. They stayed in bed until 10 AM, sleeping peacefully until the sun started bothering them.

Doyoung was the first one to wake up, the rays of the sun hitting him right in the face. He opened his eyes and looked at the sight in front of him. Jungwoo must have turned around in his sleep because now he was facing him. Jaehyun had his face buried in the younger's hair, his arms surrounding both of them securely. Doyoung smiled softly, brushing Jungwoo's hair out of his eyes carefully and tucked Jaehyun's hair behind his ear. They looked so cute and beautiful that Doyoung felt his heart start beating faster.

He blushed at the thought. Why was he like that? When he first met them, he hadn't felt like that at all. Whenever Jungwoo or Jaehyun would just smile at him, he just got nervous and flustered suddenly. Or when they hugged him or mde something funny to make him smile, he felt warm and loved. The question was, why? Sure, the rest of his friends also made him feel loved and they supported him as well, but when it came to Jaehyun and Jungwoo, he felt different.

He tried to think about the moment when his feelings started to change, but he couldn't remember. Those fond feelings for his two friends had developed into something else, soemthing more. And he was a little scared. He had noticed those feelings before, but he had chosen to ignore them and let them aside. However, lately he couldn't just brush them away and make as if they didn't exist. 

He felt bad for feeling like this. Even if he knew that he liked them, he also knew that he shouldn't like the two of them. That was too selfish. He couldn't have them both at the same time but he also couldn't bring himself to just choose one. 

He sighed. He should try to stop thinking about it or at least ignore them when he was around those two, just because he might do something that he would regret later. And it wasn't like he was enough for them. The two of them looked so good together, so comfortable around each other. There was no way in the world that they would even think about him romantically. He was ugly, he didn't have a beautiful face or body and he surely wasn't attractive, so his chances with either of them were none.

That thought made him sad because, even if he tried to think better of himself, he couldn't really say he was handsome or attractive, not with a face and body like his. If his psychologist could hear what he was thinking, she would probably get angry at him. She had tried so hard to help him see himself as a great person, and she had made an improvement, but Doyoung still hadn't reached that point.

He looked at them again. Jungwoo was the cutest boy he's ever seen. His eyes were big and bright, making hin look innocent and adorable. He was more thin than Doyoung would like to see him be, but his face was still beautiful and he was sure that when he grew up, he would be even more handsome. Jaehyun, on the other hand, was handsome in his own way. He still looked a bit like a kid, because he was really young. But, just like Jungwoo, when he grew up he would surely look even more attractive. His lips and nose made his face look like it was sculpted and his cheeks made him look like a baby sometimes.

How could Doyoung even compare? He was miles away from that. He shook his head and tried to stop thinking about it. He knew that when he started, he wouldn't stop for hours.

He traced Jungwoo's cute nose with his finger, making the younger frown in his sleep. Doyoung smiled again. He should wake them up or they would stay the whole day in bed. He also had to go to his house to get some clothes and see his parents and his little brother.

Doyoung sat up on the bed and stretched for a bit. He moved around to look at the clock that was on the wall again. 10:30 AM. He had been thinling for a while.

The movement seemed to wake up Jungwoo, who also started moving in the bed. He tried to hide his face from the sun under the blankets, but he wasn't succesful and just opened his eyes.

"Good morning" he said with a raspy voice. Doyoung put his hand on the younger's forehead and smiled when he felt no fever.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm feeling well. I slept very well after... you know" he said, still a bit embarrassed.

"It's okay, don't worry. What are you going to do today? Jaehyun and I thought of spending the afternoon here to do something. Do you want to come?" Doyoung asked.

At first, Jungwoo immediately thought of agreeing. Spending time out of his house and with Doyoung and Jaehyun? It was more than perfect. Then he remembered what he had been thinking yesterday and decided that Doyoung and Jaehyun probably wanted to spend some time alone, so he decided to do what he supposed was better for them.

"Sorry, hyung, but I have to go home today. My parents are coming this afternoon and I have some chores to do at home before they arrive" he said, trying to smile. It hurt, but he knew it was the best for him and for them.

"Really? Do you want us to go and help you?" Doyoung asked, a little surprised by the answer.

"No, no. It's okay. You've helped me a lot already" Jungwoo said.

"Oh... okay. But if you change your mind we'll be here" Doyoung answered. It was weird for Jungwoo to reject spending time with them, but there was always a first time for everything, he thought.

Jaehyun opened his eyes as well, awaken by their little chat. He hugged them closer, making Jungwoo squish his face against Doyoung's chest, making both of them blush at the sudden proximity.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jaehyun asked, his face still buried in Jungwoo's hair.

"Not even a 'good morning'?" Doyoung asked.

"Okay, good morning. What were you talking about?" He asked again.

"I have to go home soon and I can't stay with you this afternoon. I have chores to do at my house before my parents arrive" Jungwoo said, his voice a little muffled.

"Oh, do you want us to help? I don't mind helping you with those chores" Jaehyun said.

"I've already asked him, but he says that we've already helped a lot" Doyoung said.

"And it's true. It's okay. I'm already feeling better" Jungwoo said again, trying to convince the other two because, if they actually went to his house, they would find out about many things.

"Alright. But if you need any help, we're here and if you decide to join us later, you know where we are" Jaehyun said, finally releasing the other two from his arms.

They got up from the bed and went to the kitchen to eat some breakfast. Jaehyun gave some food to Sunhee while Doyoung and Jungwoo were preparing breakfast.

Once it was ready, they ate in the table of the living room and talked for a while. They tidied up everything and Jungwoo and Doyoung got ready to go back to their houses.

"I'm just going to leave my things and tell my parents. They haven't seen me since yesterday in the morning" Doyoung chuckled. "I'll be back in a while to help you make something for lunch" 

"Okay. But you don't have to come if you don't want. I'm used to staying alone for a while" Jaehyun smiled.

"No, really. I just have to leave some things in my house. The rest of the day, I'm all yours" Doyoung smiled.

Jungwoo heard them talking while he was putting on his own clothes that he wore yesterday. Jaehyun had insisted in lending him some of his own again, but Jungwoo refused.

There was a big difference between his clothes and Jaehyun's. His hoodie wasn't as soft or warm as Jaehyun's, but he couldn't risk losing his clothes because his parents decided to take them away from him or even tearing them when they had the chance to see him.

Jungwoo shudered. His parents would most likely be at his house right now, but he couldn't stay any longer. There was a slim chance that they were working on a Saturday, but Jungwoo wasn't so lucky. He should prepare himself for what was about to come.

"Are you ready, Jungwoo?" Doyoung asked from behind. That startled Jungwoo. He had just put on his hoodie. Had he seen his back? The bruises that were there? The scars? He really hoped that Doyoung hadn't seen anything. He had to be more careful.

"Yes. I just have to get my bag and we can get going" he said, smiling even if he was a little scared. If Doyoung had seen anything, he didn't seem to react any differntly. Jungwoo rushed past him to where his bag laid in the living room.

"I'm ready" He said to Doyoung who had also got his bag.

"Then, let's go" He said.

"Be careful on your way back and say hi to your parents" Jaehyun said as he accompanied them to the door. Jungwoo and Doyoung nodded and said goodbye.

On their way to their houses, Doyoung and Jungwoo talked happily about everything and anything.

Once they reached Jungwoo's house, Jungwoo remembered that he had to get inside his house without Doyoung seeing him, just in case his parents were waiting for him at the door.

"Well, see you on Monday, Jungwoo. And if you change your mind, just come to Jae's house" Doyoung said and Jungwoo nodded and waved.

He walked to his house slowly, crossing the little garden that they had. Not many houses had one in Korea, but his mother had always liked flowers. If she just took care of him just like she did with those flowers.

He looked back quickly, feeling relieved when he saw that Doyoung was nowhere to be seen. He had probably continued his way to his house.

The relief was temporary, because now he had to face the real horror that was his own house. He sighed before walking to the door.

\- - -

Jaehyun smiled as he saw Doyoung and Jungwoo walking towards their houses. He was a bit sad and lonely now that they had gone, but at least Doyoung would be back in a while. It would be even better if Jungwoo was also with them, but he couldn't complain.

As soon as they were out of his view, he ran inside, closing the door and took his phone.

He was panicking. He had been since yesterday. And he had to talk to one person in particular.

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**SICHENG**   
**SICHENG**   
**ANSWER PLEASE**   
**IT'S URGENT**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**WHAT**   
**WHAT HAPPENED**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**So, you know that Jungwoo and Doyoung stayed at my house yesterday?**   
**And they slept here with me and all?**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**Yes**   
**And what with that?**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**Well**   
**I've been feeling weird since yesterday**   
**I don't know what's happening to me**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**What do you mean?**   
**Are you feeling bad? Maybe you got what Jungwoo had**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko **   
**No, not like that**   
**And last night, Jungwoo woke up because he was feeling bad and had to throw up**

**From: Winko **   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**Poor thing T-T**   
**Is he feeling better now?**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**Yes, he's better now**   
**But last night, he was feeling really bad and I was just so worried**   
**He was also embarrassed because he was feeling sick and he wouldn't look at me or Doyoung**   
**And I felt so bad seeing him like that**   
**And Doyoung helped him and he started feeling better and I was feeling better as well**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**And where is the problem there?**   
**You have to be more specific Jung Jaehyun**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko **   
**Argh**   
**It's just**   
**Whenever I'm around Doyoung or Jungwoo I get all nervous and my stomach suddenly hurts and feels weird**   
**And when I saw Jungwoo feeling bad yesterday and Doyoung trying to comfort him I felt bad but also good?**   
**Like I was happy that Doyoung was helping him, but I also felt bad from seeing them bad**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**Oh, Jae**   
**I think I know what's happening to you**   
**And maybe you won't believe it**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**What? What is it?**   
**I've been trying to figure this our for a while**   
**Because these things have been happening for a while too**   
**Tell me**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**Oh god, it's worse than I thought**   
**You're in love Jae**   
**You like Jungwoo and Doyoung-hyung**

Jaehyun blinked at the screen a few times. He read the message a few times, just to make sure that what he was seeing was okay. It couldn't be. He couldn't like them. Hell, he didn't even believe that love was a thing. He couldn't be in love.

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**Sicheng, you know that you're my best friend and I love you like the best friend you are**   
**But that's the most stupid thing you've told me since that time when you told me you liked girls**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun **   
**Hey, don't remind me of that!**   
**I didn't know if you were okay with me being gay**   
**I wasn't sure of how you would react**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**I know, I know**   
**But I can't be in love**   
**I mean, both Doyoung and Jungwoo are very close friends and I care about them a lot**   
**But that can't be love**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun **   
**My god, Jae**   
**Even if you haven't noticed, everytime you look at either of them**   
**Your entire face changes and your eyes become brighter **   
**You are always the first to try to fight anyone who gets near Doyoung or Jungwoo**   
**And don't tell me you don't think they are cute or attractive**   
**Use your last braicell Jae**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**Okay, I'm going to ignore the way you basically called me an idiot**   
**But that can't be it**   
**.**   
**.**   
**.**   
**Right?**   
**.**   
**.**   
**.**   
**Oh my god**   
**I like them**   
**SICHENG I LIKE THEM**   
**JAHSIANBESONS**   
**WHAT AM I GOING TO DO???**   
**SICHENG!!!!!!**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**And there you have it**   
**So you have finally realized after months?**   
**Congratulations **   
**It took you even longer than me and Yuta getting together**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Yuta**   
**WHAT?**   
**YOU AND YUTA ARE TOGETHER?**   
**WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN? AND HOW?**   
**WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME?**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**Calm down idiot**   
**He asked me yesterday after school**   
**And I've been thinking about asking him lately too but I was afraid he was going to reject me**   
**Guess I don't have to worry about it anymore because I have a boyfriend now**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**Congratulations Chengie T-T♡**   
**I'm so happy for you**   
**I told you you didn't have to worry**   
**Yuta-hyung has been looking at you like you were a piece of art since we met**   
**Oh my god my baby has a boyfriend now T-T **   
**He's all grown up **   
**I have to give Yuta-hyung the talk**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun **   
**Thanks ♡**   
**And what talk?**

**From: Jaehyun **   
**To: Winko **   
**You know**   
**The "if you hurt him I'll kill you" one**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun**   
**Sure**   
**I'll let him know**   
**And what about you and your love problem?**   
**What are you going to do?**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**I don't know**   
**I really don't know**   
**What if I tell them and they are weirded out by it? **   
**What if one of them rejects me?**   
**Oh, Sicheng they are two**   
**How am I going to choose?**   
**I can't choose between them**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun **   
**Jae calm down**   
**You don't have to choose**   
**Poly relationships are a thing**   
**The would have to accept you and the other, but I don't think that's a problem**   
**I mean, you three look like you've been dating since we met**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**Don't lie**   
**We are just good friends**   
**And I don't know about the poly thing**   
**I'm so confused and lost rn**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun **   
**Don't worry Jae**   
**We'll figure everything out**   
**Are you alone this afternoon?**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko **   
**No, Doyoung-hyung will stay with me**   
**Why?**

**From: Winko **   
**To: Jaehyun **   
**I thought I could go to your house and talk a bit about this situation**   
**But it's okay**   
**You can have fun with Doyoung-hyung 7u7**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**Stop T-T**   
**He's just staying because I'm alone until my mother comes back**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun **   
**Okay, okay**   
**We'll talk later then**   
**Just be sure to act normal and don't start panicking in front of him**   
**You tend to say things you shouldn't when you panic**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko**   
**Shut up, that's a lie**   
**I have to go**   
**I think Doyoung-hyung is here**

**From: Winko**   
**To: Jaehyun **   
**Okaay**   
**Just be careful 7u7**

**From: Jaehyun**   
**To: Winko **   
**SHUT UP SICHENG**


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What did Doyoung see?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello♡
> 
> I hope you are all safe right now and being careful. A lot of countried have started quarantines lately, and I'm really worried about the current situation in mu country, but the only thing I can do is staying at home and follow the security meassures.
> 
> So, I have been working on some chapters for this work and I'm writing really fast now, so expect some chapters to come really soon.
> 
> As always, I hope you like it and leave comments and kudos to show your support because it makes me really happy to see them♡

Doyoung couldn't shake the image from his head. He hadn't wanted to see anything, he wasn't intending to, but when he entered Jaehyun's room, he got to see Jungwoo's back just for a second.

It was a view that he certainly wasn't prepared for. Jungwoo's bony back was covered in bruises and cuts, some looking older than others. There were also some scars, splattered all over his back. 

Doyoung had been frozen for a second when he saw it, but judging by the way Jungwoo quickly covered himself with his hoodie, he probably didn't want anyone to see. Doyoung tried to act as normal as possible, but it was still fresh in his mind. 

He had walked to his home quickly after leaving Jungwoo on his house and maybe he should have stayed just to make sure Jungwoo arrived safely at home, but he couldn't really think at that moment.

When he arrived at his house, he entered and closed the door behind his back.

"Doyoungie?" His mother asked, coming from the kitchen. Behind her, a little gray cat appeared and went to greet Doyoung.

"Hi, mom. Hi, Hye" he said as he patted the cat.

"How was the night? Did you have fun with your friends?" She asked sweetly. Doyoung entered and left his bag in the living room.

"Yes, we had fun. We cooked some food and saw a movie yesterday. Jungwoo wasn't feeling well at night, but he's better now" He explained his mother.

"That's a pity. But I'm glad he's feeling better now. You should bring your new friends here some time. I want to meet the boys who are making my son so happy" His father said from behind him, startling Doyoung a little.

"Hi dad" Doyoung smiled as his father ruffled his hair.

"Hyung" Jeno came running towards him until he hugged him. Doyoung chuckled at his brother. He may have grown, but he was still his baby brother.

"Jeno, do you know where I was?" He asked.

"Where?" Jeno asked, looking at him with big curious eyes.

"I was at Jaemin's house, with his brother" he answered.

"You were at Nana's house? And you didn't take me?" Jeno asked, betrayed by his brother's actions.

"Jaemin wasn't there. I was with his brother Jaehyun and our friend Jungwoo" Doyoung said, laughing at his brother's reaction.

"Well, next time can I go with you to see Nana?" Jeno asked.

"I'll have to ask Jaehyun, but sure" Doyoung said and Jeno smiled, making Doyoung smile as well.

Jeno ran towards his bedroom and Doyoung turned to his parents again.

"Can I go to Jaehyun's house today too? He's going to be alone today" Doyoung asked.

"Sure, honey. Do you want me to prepare anything for you? Something to eat?" His mother asked.

"No, it's okay. We'll just prepare something" he said. His father walked past him and went to Jeno's room, probably to see what he was doing.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Doyoung asked cautiously.

"Of course. What is it?" She said sweetly.

"How can I ask someone about something that they haven't told me but I have noticed already?" He asked, trying to put into words what he was thinking.

"Doyoungie, I think you need to repeat that to me because I can't understand. Can you be more specific?" She asked.

"Okay, mmh... I've told you about Jungwoo, right?" Doyoung started.

"Your youngest friend, right?" She asked, trying to remember clearly.

"Yeah. He was the one who was also suffering from bullying" Doyoung continued.

"Yes, I know. You guys are trying to stop that, right?" She asked. She was a very kind person, so Doyoung knew she would also worry about Jungwoo's situation.

"Of course. We are all with him between classes and we are always scolding the children from his class. However we can't be with him in his classes..." Doyoung was sad because the younger was alone in his classes and that made them worry. He always thought he could trust the teachers but it seemed like they sometimes forgot or ignored the situation.

"At least you're doing what you can" She said smiling gently. She had been preparing lunch, but she sat down in front of Doyoung, sensing that his question wouldn't be a light or silly one.

"And what about him?" She asked, taking Doyoung's hands in hers.

"Well... my friends and I have noticed that... How can I say this?..." He tried to get the words out but just thinking about the possibility made him sick.

"Take your time, honey, don't worry" She squished his hands to give him support. Doyoung took a deep breath and continued.

"We have noticed that he has a lot of bruises. Like all over his arms and sometimes even in his face. At first, we thought that it was because of his classmates... but we have been his friends for a while and those children hadn't had time to hit him like they used to, at least not out of class, and inside of it, I don't think teachers would have let them. And we have been thinking for a while that maybe... there is someone in his house... treating him bad?" It was more a question than a statement. They weren't sure and they hadn't asked Jungwoo about it. But the evidences seemed to fit.

"And why would you think that?" His mother asked. She always liked to listen to everything the other person had to say and them give some advice.

"First of all, his clothes and things seem very old. And I don't mean it in a bad way, is just that even in the winter, his clothes are very thin and I'm sure he's been sick because of that. It just seems like his parents don't care about his wellbeing. Then, there are the bruises that continously appear. Jungwoo always says he fell or that he is so clumsy that he hits everything, but sometimes those bruises look worse than that. I've never gone to his house, but I've left him there and he always seems nervous about entering. Like, I just came with him from Jaehyun's house and we were talking, but when we were getting closer to his house, he started looking distracted. I believe that he isn't even aware that he does that. And... before leaving Jaehyun's house... he was changing into his clothes and I entered the room to see if he was ready. I didn't know he was still changing. If I knew, I wouldn't have entered because I don't want to make him uncomfortable" He looked down and his mother squished his hands. He knew how that felt.

"Anyways, I saw his back and... i-it was covered in b-bruises and c-cuts and scars. Mom, it was h-horrible. Those things were everywhere in his back and I-I hadn't noticed. He's always around us and not once have I seen him flinch or anything when we touch his back. It has to hurt a lot! And I don't know how he got those or who caused them" Doyoung's eyes became teary just by thinking about it. Jungwoo had never shown any sign of discomfort or pain around them and they had always been really touchy with each other, so they had probably touched his back where it hurt the most and caused the younger pain without even knowing.

"Oh, honey, that sounds bad. Really bad. And from what you had told me before, he hasn't tell any of you anything, right?" She asked and Doyoung shook his head.

"And why don't you try to ask him? Maybe it's not what you think" She said, encouraging his son.

"But mom, what if we make him uncomfortable and he doesn't want to talk about it? I hope it's not what we are thinking, but what happens if it is really happening? What can we do if his own father or mother are treating him like that?" He couldn't imagine it. He didn't want to.

"I don't know, Doyoungie. Maybe you should wait a bit more? Just until you are completely sure about it and then you can talk to him. In the meantime, you should try to make him feel safe and comfortable with you, so he knows he can trust all of you if things are bad" She tried to reassure his son, but even she knew the situation was complicated.

"Yeah, that's the best we can do for now. I'll try to talk to Ten. He has known Jungwoo for a long time, so he probably knows more than us. I have to go. Jaehyun is waiting" He said as he got up from the table.

Her mother nodded and got up as well. She patted Doyoung in the head and hugged him. She knew his son was strong and he was fighting his own battles, but he was a very caring person and if he knew someone he cared about was suffering, he always tried to help.

"Don't worry, honey. Everything will be okay" 

* * *

Doyoung walked back to Jaehyun's house. On his way there, his eyes lingered on Jungwoo's house for a bit. What could be happening there? How was Jungwoo's life inside that house? He shook his head. They had to wait for a bit more. Just to make sure everything was true and not make him uncomfortable.

He continued his walk, thinking about everything. Should he tell Jaehyun about what he had seen? Or should he talk to Ten first? He was confused. He was sure that Jaehyun would tell him if he saw anything, just as he had told him what Jungwoo said in the morning when he was in the infirmary. And he had told him that they would help Jungwoo together.

Doyoung finally arrived again at Jaehyun's house. He knocked on the door, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. He was going to be alone with Jaehyun for a while. He had never been worried about it before, but now he was feeling a little nervous.

'Don't be silly, Doyoung. It will be okay' he thought to himself. What was taking Jaehyun so long anyways?

When he was about to knock again, Jaehyun opened the door, startling him.

"Sorry, hyung. I was... giving Sunhee some treats" the younger said, smiling and showing his dimples. 

"It's okay. I just got worried for a bit that you might have left me out here" Doyoung chuckled, a little bit flustered by the younger's smile. 

"Come in" Jaehyun ushered the older inside. "Did you leave Jungwoo at his house?" He asked.

"Yeah. Sorry if I took longer than expected. I had to talk with my mother and my brother also wanted to see me" Doyoung said while going to the living room.

"Oh, our Doyoungie is very loved by his family" Jaehyun teased him.

"Of course" Doyoung answered and the weird atmosphere from before disappeared.

"I have to tell you something, and it's not something really... good" Doyoung said, putting an end to their bickering.

"What is it?" Jaehyun asked immediately when he noticed the change in the older's mood.

"Do you remember when I went to your bedroom this morning to check on Jungwoo, to see if he was ready?" He asked and Jaehyun nodded. "Well, I didn't know he was still changing into his own clothes and I... accidentally saw his back" Doyoung swallowed. "Jaehyunnie, it was covered in bruises and scars. There were even some cuts, some that looked fresher than others a-and they were everywhere. His whole back was just... d-destroyed" Doyoung's voice started to shake. 

"W-What? Why is his back like that?" Jaehyun asked, letting the information sink in.

"I-I don't know, but it looked so p-painful. Jaehyun, we have hugged him and patted him on the back so many t-times. We probably h-have been hurting him without even knowing" Doyoung felt hot tears escape from his eyes. Earlier, when he was at his house, he had wanted to cry, but he managed to stop himself from doing so, but now, he couldn't.

Doyoung tried to dry his tears with his hands, rubbing them on his eyes to stop them. He felt a pair of arms surround him. He opened his eyes and noticed that Jaehyun had hugged him closely. He immediately hugged the younger back, also noticing how he was also shaking.

"It's okay, Jaehyunnie. It's okay" Doyoung said sniffling. He felt a wet patch forming in his shoulder and he just ran his hands through Jaehyun's soft hair.

They stayed like that for a while, until they both stopped crying and decided that they had to talk. Doyoung dried Jaehyun's tears with his thumbs, being careful as to not irritate the younger's eyes anymore.

"H-Hyung, I-I didn't know-" Jaehyun started talking quickly. Too quickly.

"Calm down, okay? Take a deep breath and then you can tell me. I'm not going anywhere" Doyoung said, taking Jaehyun's hands. He let the younger take some deep breaths and continue talking.

"I'm just worried because... I have been inflicting pain on him, probably for a while, when all I wanted was to protect him from that pain. Why is his back like that? Who did it to him?" Jaehyun asked, knowing that Doyoung didn't have the answer to that.

"I don't know. And it's not your fault. You didn't know that he was hurt" Doyoung said.

"I know, but I still feel bad. If his back is as bad as you've described it, it has to hurt a lot. How does he hide that? And who hurt him like that?" Jaehyun felt bad. Really bad. How could he have been hurting his friend for so long? And without even noticing?

"Do you remember what we talked about yesterday? When he was asleep?" Doyoung asked.

"That maybe... someone is treating him bad at home?" Jaehyun didn't like where this was going.

"What if... it's true? What if those bruises and cuts are because of that?" Doyoung asked, more to himself.

"But... that can't be possible, right? What kind of parent would do that to their children?" Jaehyun asked, clearly not wanting to believe Doyoung.

"It could be. C'mon Jae, all the bruises we see. All of them can't be just from his classmates or from falling from his bed. He almost never eats, and not because he isn't hungry or he doesn't want to, but because he has no food. I'm sure that if Taeyong-hyung wasn't bringing him some food everyday for lunch, he wouldn't eat. And, yesterday when he came to school so sick... what parent would let their soon go to school like that?" Doyoung started listing things and, as he went on, everythign started to fit.

"Well, yes those things are all weird but..." Jaehyun tried to say. He didn't want to believe it. He just couldn't think about the possibility of one of the boys he loved was suffering so much.

"I know it's difficult to believe. It's scary and worrying. That's what I've talked with my mother" Doyoung confessed.

"And what did she say? She's a mother. She has to know more things than us, right?" Jaehyun asked. Doyoung found his way of thinking cute, because that's what most children think about his mother. They know it all.

"She told me that we should talk to him. Ask him about the situation. But he might not be comfortable talking about it" 

"That's what I thought. What if he doesn't want to talk to us after we've asked?" Jaehyun shuddered just thinking about the possibility. He wouldn't be able to live peacefully knowing that Jungwoo didn't want to talk to him because he made him uncomfortable.

"That's the problem. She told me that we should wait. At least until he's comfortable enough to talk to us about it. Maybe we're just making everything up and he's just fine at his house, but we can't be sure" Doyoung said.

"Okay. That's a good idea. If he has a problem, he will probably come to us, right?" Jaehyun asked.

"I hope so. If what we're thinking is true, maybe he will try to solve it by himself, but maybe it's just our imagination and everything's okay" Doyoung tried to stay positive.

"Yeah. Then, we have to wait" Jaehyun said and stayed silent for a few seconds. "I just hope he's okay" Jaehyun murmured. 

"Me too, Jaehyun. Me too" Doyoung said as he let his head fall on Jaehyun's. Jaehyun was a bit taller than him, but in the couch, where he had sank down as they had talked, Doyoung could put his head on top of the younger's comfortably.

They spent the rest of the morning like that. Cuddling and talking softly about anything and everything. They were a bit worn out from their conversation, so they just wanted to relax for a bit and stay content and warm together. But even if they were feeling calm at the moment, in the back of their minds, they both had the same person.

* * *

Jungwoo opened the door of his house. He quickly ran upstairs, closing the door of his room as soon as he entered. 

He looked around for a moment, just to make sure he was alone.

He sighed. He had avoided his parents. At least for now. He didn't know if they were in the house or not, but he was just grateful that he had managed to escape from them.

He left his bag on the floor and laid down on his bed, calming down for a moment. He knew that he wasn't safe. His parents surely must have noticed that he hadn't come home yesterday. They surely knew. And he was also sure that they wouldn't let that happen without any punishment. How or when that punishment would come, he didn't know, but it was going to happen for sure.

He thought about his current situation: it was almost time for lunch but he didn't have any food. He wasn't going to test his luck just to get some food, so he had to stay almost two days without eating anything. Luckily, he had some water bottles that he always filled and saved for days like these. On Sundays, his parents never left the house, so he wouldn't be able to leave the room at all. But he had gone longer without eating anything. 

He got his phone out of his pocket, just to see if anyone had talked to him. There were some messages on their groupchat, but it was just Yuta talking about Sicheng. Apparently, they were boyfriends now and Jungwoo smiled at the notice. He was so happy for them. He had noticed how Yuta always looked at Sicheng and how the Chinese boy tried to hide his blush when the Japanese complimented him.

He congratulated them, using as many emojis as he could to show how happy he was. They deserved to be happy.

After a few minutes of reading everyone's messages, he decided he had to get some of his homework done. He had missed his classes on Friday, but luckily his teachers had told him all the homework he had to do because he had been sick at the infirmary. 

He got up from the bed and checked that his door was properly locked. Then, he sat down on his desk and started doing his homework. He tried really hard to concentrate, but there was something that was just bothering him. Something that made him feel uneasy.

He continued doing homework and studying until he got tired of it. It was almost 5 PM when he put everything back in his bag and laid down on the bed. He had nothing else to do, so he decided to just talk to someone. 

Oh, how he wished he could have stayed with Doyoung and Jaehyun, but he couldn't risk to go back on Sunday, when he was sure his parents would be waiting for him.

He smiled at the thought of those two. They managed to make everything better just by being with him. They had made him feel better when he was sick, trying to comfort him as much as possible. They had also helped when he was having a pretty bad panic attack in the middle of the hallway of their highschool. He was just so grateful for them.

Jungwoo wished he could stay with them forever, that he didn't have to return to the place that he should call home but wasn't. However, that was not possible, not now, not ever. Even if he could stay with them without having to return to his house, he knew that his place wasn't there. 

His thoughts from the previous night invaded him again. Just like Yuta and Sicheng, Doyoung and Jaehyun would want to start dating soon. They were surely interested in each other, so they would probably talk soon.

Tears started flowing from Jungwoo's eyes. He shouldn't cry. He didn't even have a reason to cry. He was happy for Yuta and Sicheng and he would be happy if Jaehyun and Doyoung started dating as well, but his heart ached at the same time. He wanted to be with them, to be able to hug them, sleep between them, be protected by them and support them as much as they had supported him, but things weren't so easy. He didn't fit there.

He felt his phone vibrating against his leg. Someone was calling him. He tried to stop his sobs to answer, only to realise that it was Ten who was calling. He picked up.

"Hey, Woo. How are you doing? Are you feeling better?" Ten asked, his voice cheerful and warm.

"Y-Yes, I'm feeling better. I'm at my house right now" his voice was shaky and hoarse from crying, but he didn't mind.

"What's wrong? Did something happen? Were you caught by your parents?" Ten asked, clearly worried after hearing the younger crying.

"I didn't f-find my parents, at least n-not yet. I'm j-just... Ten, I think I like s-someone" Jungwoo said.

"But that's not bad at all! Don't cry, Woo" Ten said.

"I-I know it's not bad but..."

"Who is it?" Ten quickly asked, not letting him finish the sentence.

"Jaehyun-hyung... and Doyoung-hyung" Jungwoo sniffled.

"Well, and what is wrong there?" Ten asked.

"I l-like both! That's not okay" Jungwoo exclaimed, quickly lowering his voice. His parents could be around the house and he knew better than to speak too loud.

"Jungwoo, baby, polyamory is a thing. If you talk with them and they return your feelings, you can be together" Ten explained to the younger. He was feeling a bit emotional himself. His practically baby brother was growing up.

"B-But they don't like me like that. And Doyoung-hyung and Jaehyun-hyung l-like each other" Jungwoo said. He was getting sadder as he talked. "I would be h-happy if they started dating, but I'm sad just by thinking about it. I just don't fit there" Jungwoo sobbed.

"Sweetheart, don't think like that. I'm pretty sure that both Doyoung and Jaehyun like you too. I mean, since they became out friends, they were the ones who have got closer to you in this time. They always worry about you and care about you. I think you have a chance, a big one. You should talk to them" Ten tried to encourage Jungwoo, but he knew that once the younger got something in his mind, it wouldn't change unless the other person would prove him wrong. That had happened to Ten before as well.

"I-I don't know. I don't think that would be good for me. What if I mess everything up? I-I don't want to lose them, Ten" Jungwoo said seriously.

"And you won't. But you have to talk to them, just to know what they feel and think" Ten said.

"Yeah, maybe in like ten years I'll talk to them" Jungwoo said jokingly. He really wished he was confident enough to talk about his feelings with other people, but he sucked at it. "And why would they want me? I'm a mess, Ten. I don't even know how you're still around me with how many problems I've caused you" Jungwoo said smiling sadly.

"I'm here because I love you a lot and I can't leave you alone, I got attached to you, okay?" Ten chuckled. "But, jokes aside, you're really important for me and I think Doyoung and Jaehyun think the same"

"They see me as a little brother, a child they have to take care of. I don't think their feelings towards me are the same as mine" Jungwoo said. 

"Maybe they felt like that at first, but I'm sure that's not the case anymore" Ten tried to convince the younger.

Jungwoo sighed. He was tired of talking and thinking about the same thing over and over again. He really wanted to be without any worries, or as least as he could, but his head kept remembering the same two people.

"Tennie, can we talk about something else? I've been thinking about this since yesterday, and I'm already tired of feeling bad because of it" Jungwoo chuckled. He knew that it would be a long weekend, especially because on weekends he was always in his room, without a reason to go to school or a chance to go out with his parents in the house.

He spent the rest of the afternoon talking with Ten. They talked about the silliest things they could think of, distracting themselves from reality at least for a while. 

Sooner than expected, the afternoon turned into night and Ten had to go to eat dinner. 

"Do you have anything to eat?" Ten asked the younger.

"Yes. I got some food before coming upstairs before" Jungwoo lied just to not make Ten worry. He knew that his friend would go to his house if he knew he had no food, but he didn't want him to get in trouble.

"Okay. Then, we'll talk tomorrow. I think I'll sleep just after I eat dinner. That maths project really had me awake all night yesterday" Ten chuckled.

"Alright. Good night then. Have sweet dreams with numbers and equations" Jungwoo teased.

"Yah!" Jungwoo laughed and ended the call.

Jungwoo rolled on the bed, laying in his back. He hissed and got up. His mother had caught him the other day and she had a fun time hitting him with a belt and laughing at his pathetic cries. She really seemed to enjoy torturing him.

He got his lotion and some alcohol to treat the deeper cuts. He thought they were already closed, but he must have moved too harsly and some had re-opened. Unfortunately, he didn't have any bandages to put on in his room. There were some in the bathroom, but he wouldn't be going out of his room until Monday morning.

He poured some alcohol in a tissue and ran it across his back, supressing a sob when the tissue touched the open cuts. One would think he would have got used to it by now, after years of doing it, but it hurt everytime.

Once he was happy enough with his work, he put on his pajamas and went back to his bed. He had slept well last night, with Doyoung and Jaehyun hugging him, but he had been really tired after getting sick and crying from the afternoon, so he should try to sleep as soon as possible.

He shivered as he got into bed. He was feeling a lot better, but there was still a mild fever in his body. It wasn't much, but he was feeling colder than usual.

He closed his eyes and thought about Doyoung and Jaehyun. He didn't want to cry again, so he just thought about how warm he was in their arms last night, how secure he felt. Before he knew, he had drifted to sleep.

* * *

He jolted awake because of the loud noises coming from his door. He was instantly awake when he discovered what was happening. His father was trying to enter in his room.

He tried not to panic. The lock he had on his door was really strong. He wouldn't be able to break it. Right?

He stayed silent, and got up from his bed. Jungwoo hid on his closet, trying to calm down the quick beat of his heart and stop his tears from flowing. He expected his father to just get tired as always and go away, but instead of that, the bangs on his door only became stronger, louder. 

Everything stopped when he heard the sound of the door hitting the wall. He stopped breathing. He was there. He had got inside.

"Where are you, little pest?" He said. Jungwoo cursed internally. He was drunk. And that only meant one thing. He was even more violent.

"Not under the bed" He said. Jungwoo could hear the footsteps getting closer to where he was. He closed his eyes, wishing for someone to rescue him.

In movies, that was the moment when someone appeared and saved the protagonist from their misery. 

But Jungwoo's life wasn't a movie.

His father opened the closet and laughed loudly.

"I knew you were here" his words were slurred and he swayed when he laughed, but his grip on Jungwoo's hair was strong.

He dragged Jungwoo out of the closset by his hair, throwing him on the ground harshly. Jungwoo, who had landed on his back, could feel air leaving his lungs from the impact.

His father put his foot on top of Jungwoo's stomach, where he knew the boy had some nasty bruises from their last encounter.

"So, you decide not to come back home one day, and the next day you come here and expect nothing to happen? Is that what you think?" He said as he put more and more pressure on Jungwoo.

Jungwoo tried to remove his foot, but the only thing he got was a kick on his stomach.

"We are going to have some fun" His father laughed and started hitting him wherever he could.

It would be a long weekend.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungwoo's weekend was very... unpleasant. And someone comes back after many years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :D
> 
> It took a while, but the next chapter is finally here. I was a little stuck for a while, but I finally finished it. I hope you are all safe and trying to spend this quarantine as peacefully as possible even if it's difficult.
> 
> As always, I hope you like it and comments and kudos are always appreciated♡

Ten stirred awake by the sound of his phone. It was late. Too late to be something normal. He had gone to sleep a while ago because he had school the next morning. But if there was someone calling, it might be an emergency.

He quickly took his phone and accepted the call, without even looking at who was calling.

"T-Ten" Jungwoo's weak voice came from the other side of the phone. That made Ten sit on the bed.

"Jungwoo? What's wrong? What happened?" He asked frantically. After hearing how broken the younger's voice sounded, he knew something was very wrong.

"C-Come... please... c-come" Jungwoo repeated, over and over again, his voice getting weaker everytime. Now Ten was even more worried. This was bad. This was really bad.

"Don't worry, baby. I'm coming, I'm coming. Just hang in there, just for a moment, okay?" Ten said as he got his folding ladder. He had to be quick. "I'm getting out of my house" He said as he put his phone in his pocket. He had to use both of his hands to jump out of his window. Luckily, his bedroom wasn't upstairs, so he could get out easily. 

"I'm almost at your house, okay?" He tried to get Jungwoo to talk to him, but he was silent. And that was making Ten really anxious. What had happened? Wasn't Jungwoo okay? He hadn't talked to him on Sunday because his mother kept bothering him to help her clean the house and he had gone to sleep earlier than usual. He had texted the younger, but he didn't freak out when the other didn't answer. Ten thought he was asleep, or he had hoped so.

He quickly attached the folding ladder to Jungwoo's window, being careful to not make any sound. He got up as fast as he could and when he entered the room, he stopped breathing.

The door of the room, the only door that kept Jungwoo safe in the house, was open. Everything in the room was messy. The closet was open, clothes laying everywhere. The covers of the bed were thrown in the middle of the floor, stained with something that looked like blood. And the worst part, Jungwoo laid in the middle of the room, unmoving.

"Jungwoo" Ten ran to him. He had his phone in his hand, but he was unconscious. Ten felt his eyes tear up by his friend's state. He was covered in bruises. There were cuts everywhere he looked. And there was also blood. A lot of blood. He took Jungwoo in his arms, looking at his face. He was so pale and so cold. The younger was shivering. There was some blood going down from his forehead. His lips and nose were also bleeding and bruises covered his cheeks.

Ten looked at the door when he heard a noise that was coming from downstairs. He had to get Jungwoo out of there. And he had to do it now. He quickly got up, carrying Jungwoo as he could. Jungwoo was really light, and Ten didn't like that, but in this situation, it helped him. He got the younger's phone and bag and made his way to the window.

He was a bit worried, but he could carry Jungwoo while going down. He shushed the younger when he whimpered as Ten positioned him better. He had to be in a lot of pain, but Ten had to get him out.

He carefully went back down to the street, sighing in relief when there were no complications. He got the ladder with his free hand, thanking the gods for making a light ladder like his.

Ten practically ran across the street, carrying Jungwoo with his arms and the rest of their things with his hands. When he got to his house, he left their things on the ground to get Jungwoo inside safely. He entered his house, being really careful with the boy in his arms.

Once he was inside, Ten laid Jungwoo in his bed carefully, covering him for a moment. He quickly got their things inside as well, going back to the younger's side. He inspected him again, covering his mouth as he saw the ugly bruises that covered his best friend everywhere. He was just seeing his face. He didn't even want to look at what he had on the rest of his body.

He brushed the younger's hair out of his eyes, a tear falling from his eye. Jungwoo barely opened his eyes.

"Jungwoo" Ten called him. He went to touch the younger, but Jungwoo flinched harshly.

"S-Stop, please, stop" Jungwoo said, trying to cover his head.

"Baby, it's okay. You're not there anymore. You're with me, with Tennie" Ten said as he carefully caressed the younger's hands.

Jungwoo seemed to notice the change in his surroundings, so he opened his eyes and looked at Ten, finally recognizing him.

"T-Ten" Jungwoo said, trying to get closer to the older with desperate eyes.

"Shh, I'm here. I got you out of there" Ten said as he carefully hugged Jungwoo. His heart broke when he felt the younger shaking and crying.

"It w-was horrible. T-they took t-turns. They wouldn't s-stop... E-Everything hurts" he murmured between sobs and hiccups. 

"Deep breaths, baby, deep breaths" Ten said as he caressed his back. The younger was getting too nervous and anxious and that wasn't good in his current state. "Calm down, you're here with me now. You don't have to worry" Ten said.

Jungwoo tried to follow Ten's instructions and calmed down a bit. Ten kept his hand on the other's back. After a few minutes, Jungwoo's breaths had become longer and less erratic.

"Woo, I have to take care of those cuts or else they can get infected. I know you are really tired and in pain, but I need you to stay awake, just for a moment, okay?" Ten asked carefully. He wished he could let Jungwoo sleep now because the younger looked like he had come back from hell, but he needed his friend to tell him where he had the worst injuries.

"Okay" Jungwoo said. He tried to sit up, but he had no strength left in his body. Ten helped him, making him support himself in the wall behind him.

"I'm going to bring the first aid kit. Here, have some water. Wait, are you hungry?" Ten asked. He gave Jungwoo his water bottle that he had on his desk.

"Thanks" Jungwoo said as he drank some water. It felt like heaven for his sore throat. He had been screaming a lot in the past day and he hadn't even drank or eaten anything. "I'm okay" He said weakly after drinking. He had called Ten because he couldn't continue in his house any longer, but he didn't want to cause Ten any more troubles.

"You're not. Wait here for a moment, okay?" Ten said as he disappeared through the door. After a few minutes, he came back with the first aid kit and some fruits. 

"Here, eat these things. I'm going to take care of those wounds" Ten said and Jungwoo smiled a bit. He knew how much Ten hated fruits, but he always made Jungwoo eat them because he knew they were important for his body.

Ten brushed back his hair, keeping it out of his face so he could see his forehead better. There was a nasty cut there, almost on Jungwoo's hairline, that was bleeding horribly.

"How did you get that?" Ten asked as he desinfected the wound, pressing hard the gauze he was using to stop the bleeding. Jungwoo flinched and tried not to hiss, but it still hurt a lot.

"My mother broke a bottle there. She was drunk and had a beer bottle in her hands. Imagine how that went" Jungwoo said, trying to sound normal. His voice betrayed him though, and he could feel his eyes tearing up just from the sting.

"Oh, baby. How did this even happen? Weren't you safe in your room?" Ten asked. He wanted to know how the situation had even got to that point.

"I thought so. When I came back on Saturday, my parents didn't get me. But when I fell asleep at night, my father started kicking the door. At first, I thought he would get tired as always, but he kept kicking it until he broke the lock" Jungwoo's hands started shaking a bit. Ten continued cleaning the cuts on the younger's face, being as careful as he could.

"They got in. First, my father started and then my mother joined. They continued taking turns until a while ago. Yesterday, I-I thought that they would get tired and they would leave me alone, at least to sleep, but the kept o-on going" Jungwoo hissed when Ten pressed too hard on a cut on his cheek.

"Sorry" He said as he blowed a bit to relieve the younger.

"It's okay. They didn't stop until a while ago, when I was finally a-able to call you. I'm sorry for calling so l-late. I just didn't know i-if I would be able to stand it anymore" Jungwoo said, his voice trembling and more tears running down his face.

"No, don't cry" Ten said as he hugged Jungwoo. "I'm relieved that you called me. Jungwoo, you have been enduring this for way too long. I don't mind the time. On the contrary, I'm happy you called me" Ten was a little relieved that Jugnwoo had called him instead of continuing with all the abuse. He didn't want to think about what the state the younger would be in if he hadn't called.

"I know you're in pain, but I think I have to take you to the bathroom. It'll be easier to clean those wounds there" Ten said, getting up from the bed. "Can you walk for me?" He asked gently.

"I'll try to" Jungwoo said. Everything hurt a lot and he didn't have much strength, a consequence of not eating anything in a while. He tried to stand up from the bed, but his legs felt like jelly, so he fell back down, hissing quietly. He was about to try again when Ten stopped him.

"Hey, it's okay. Let me help" Ten said as he surrounded Jungwoo's waist with his arm. With Ten's help, they went to the bathroom that was near Ten's bedroom as quietly as they could. Luckily, the bedroom where Ten's parents slept was upstairs so they probably wouldn't hear them anyways.

Ten sat Jungwoo on the toilet and started filling the bathtub with warm water. Jungwoo, noticing this, tried to get his clothes off but his arms kept giving out. Ten saw his friend's effort and went to help him with his clothes, taking them off as gently as possible. They had seen each other naked plenty of times and they weren't self-conscious about it. They had also showered together some times when they were children and Ten had seen Jungwoo naked a lot of times when he had to treat his injuries, so this wasn't anything new.

This time, however, he frowned at the sight of the younger's body. There were wounds everywhere, scratches, cuts, bruises and even some burns in his arms. He tried not to show how angry he was by it because he didn't want to worry Jungwoo, but this was just atrocious.

Ten helped Jungwoo enter the bathtub that was now full of water. He lowered him slowly, trying no to hurt him even more.

For Jungwoo, everything hurt. The water was calming for some areas of his body and it helped him a lot with the cold that he was feeling, but the open cuts weren't taking the water so well. He took some deep breaths, trying to calm the pain a bit. 

He cleaned himself carefully, getting all of the dried blood out of his skin.

"Do you want me to wash your hair?" Ten asked.

"Would you?" Jungwoo asked with big eyes.

Ten took that as a yes and started pouring some shampoo in his hand. He used the one that smelt like vanilla, which he knew Jungwoo loved, and started washing Jungwoo's hair. He took his time washing it, making sure to relax Jungwoo as much as he could. He knew that even if the younger seemed calm now, he was still shaken up by the last hours he had lived, so he wanted to calm him down as much as possible.

When he was satisfied, he washed the shampoo out of Jungwoo's hair being careful to avoid pouring water in the wounds on Jungwoo's back.

After that, he drained the water on the tub and got a fluffy blue towel to dry Jungwoo. The younger kept looking at the water going down the drain, lost in thought.

"Hey Woo, what are you thinking about?" Ten asked.

"Nothing. Can you help me?" The younger asked instead.

"Sure" Ten said as he helped Jungwoo get out of the bathtub. He wrapped the towel around him and made him sit back on the toilet. There he started cleaning the wounds again. This time it was a lot easier because there wasn't any dried blood that hid the wounds.

Ten desinfected all the open wounds he saw on Jungwoo's body, from his face to his back to his legs and arms. He left his torso for last because it was one of the most damaged areas. He also used some ointment for the bruises and bandages to help everything stay clean. When he ended, most of Jungwoo's body was covered in bandages or bruises.

"There you go, all cleaned and bandaged. Now yoy look like a mummy" Ten said, trying to lighten the atmosphere. Jungwoo smiled softly and covered himself with the towel again.

"I'll get you some clothes. We don't want you naked just to get sick again" he said as he left to grab some clothes. He gave Jungwoo some comfortable pajamas to put on since he noticed the younger was really cold when he found him. Once he was dressed, they went back to the bedroom again.

Ten laid Jungwoo down on his bed and locked his door. He went back to the bed and laid down, covering both of them with the blankets.

"Ten, what are we going to do tomorrow? I-I don't want to go back in there" Jungwoo said with a shaky voice. If he could, he would never go back to that house.

"Shh, don't worry about that. I'll tell my mom that I'm feeling bad and we can stay here together all day" He said as he tried to calm the younger down. He wasn't going to let him go back to his house so soon.

"But you will miss school and that's not good-" Jungwoo continued but Ten didn't let him finish.

"I said that we're going to stay here together. I'm not leaving you alone like this. And I think I didn't tell you, but Yukhei is coming here tomorrow too" Ten said and he saw how Jungwoo became happier.

"Xuxi is coming?" He asked excitedly.

"Yes, he will be staying here for a while because his parents want him to practice his Korean and study more. We still don't know for sure, but maybe he will be staying here for a few years to study and live with us" Ten smiled when he saw Jungwoo's face. 

Yukhei was Ten's younger cousin from Thailand. When Ten's family had moved to South Korea, Yukhei's family also came to live there too. They lived really near to them, so Yukhei was mostly in Ten's house when they were younger. He had met Jungwoo too, and the two of them had been very close when they were younger. Jungwoo loved having a dongsaeng to take care of and he loved helping Yukhei with his Korean and playing with him and Ten. However, Yukhei's family decided to go back to Thailand, separating the three of them. That didn't make them lose their contact though, as the three always texted and did video-calls almost every week.

The notice of Yukhei coming back was a surprise for Jungwoo but it also made him feel so happy. Appart from Ten, Yukhei was the closest person that he had when he was younger and, after a few years, he was still a very dear person to him. He was happy that he was finally going to see him again after a few years of not seeing each other in person. 

It was also a relief, because Yukhei also knew about the situation that Jungwoo was going through with his parents. He had helped him a lot and always tried to console him whenever he was feeling bad or he was hurt by his parents. So Yukhei was someone he appreciated a lot.

Ten saw the smile in Jungwoo's face. He knew that the younger would be really happy about it and it made him happy too. The last time he had seen his cousin was two years ago, when he went to Thailand for the summer. He hoped that now that he was going to be back, he woud also be able to help Jungwoo in case he needed it and they would have fun again.

It was going to be a surprise for Jungwoo, but Ten had wanted to at least keep Jungwoo's mind on something else apart from his parents. 

"Enough of thinking, go to sleep and tomorrow we'll stay here until Xuxi comes. We can spend the day here and after that we'll think about what we can do" Ten said and Jungwoo nodded, moving closer to Ten.

Ten wrapped an arm around Jungwoo, carefully, and closed his eyes. He could feel the younger's breathing calming down.

Jungwoo closed his eyes and remembered what had happened, his mind going to a specific moment.

* * *

All he could feel was pain everywhere. His mother looked down to him. He was laying on the floor, trying to control his breathing and not pass out.

"Ah, it get's boring after a while" was all his mother said and then, she left his room. 

Jungwoo stayed breathing heavily for a moment. He thought his father would be waiting and the moment his mother went out, he would start again. After a few minutes, he listened. He couldn't hear anything coming from outside of his room. He had to use this opportunity to get out of there. 

He crawled towards his bed and looked for his phone that had got under it at some point of the day. He quickly looked through his contacts, trying to reach to Ten.

His finger stopped in Doyoung's contact. He didn't know why, or what moved him to do it, but he tapped the 'call' button. He put his phone to his ear, waiting for a response while trying to calm his breathing and his sniffles. Suddenly, someone picked up.

"Jungwoo?" That wasn't Doyoung's voice, but it wasn't as if he wasn't happy to hear it. Jaehyun's voice was comforting and warm, even if he had just said his name.

Then, he realized what was happening. Jaehyun was answering Doyoung's phone in the middle of the night. Why did he have Doyoung's phone? What had happened in the last hours?

"Jungwoo, are you there? Do you need something?" Jungwoo was frozen. He had probably bothered them. If they were together at this time, they would probably be sleeping together and that could mean that they had talked about their feelings.

"S-Sorry, I called you by mistake" he said, trying to keep his voice from sounding so weak, but clearly failing to do so.

"Wha-" Jaehyun tried to ask something, but Jungwoo was quick to hung up. 

He started crying even more. That was it. They had probably started dating and now Jungwoo was going to be left out, alone. He wouldn't be able to confess his feelings for either of them. They would leave him alone.

His mind spiraled into thoughts that only made him more anxious and stressed, thinking that he was obviously a bother for both of them. 

He felt his breaths quicken as he cried more and more. It hurt him, with all the bruises that he had in his chest and stomach. He had to call Ten and try to escape from the hell that was his house.

He went back to his contacts, this time going straight to Ten's one, quickly calling him.

"T-Ten" he said. His voice was even weaker than before.

"Jungwoo? What's wrong? What happened?" Ten asked. He could hear some noise coming from Ten's side. He was surely sleeping and he had woken him up. He just didn't know how not to bother everyone, did he? It was getting harder to breathe.

"C-Come... please... c-come" Jungwoo said desperately. The sides if his vision were starting to turn black and he could hear Ten's voice becoming more distant, until he couldn't hear it anymore.

* * *

Jungwoo tried not to think about them again, but he was still feeling really sad. Was this how a heartbreak was supposed to feel? If it was, it was horrible and he hoped he would be able to feel better soon.

He took a deep breath and let the warmth that surrounded him calm him. Just then he felt how tired he really was, and sooner than he expected, he was asleep.

* * *

Jungwoo woke up surrounded by warmth. He was really comfortable like this. He tried to change his position to go back to sleep, but something was stopping him from doing so.

He opened his eyes and looked down, finally seeing what was restricting his movement. A pair of arms was surrounding his chest, hugging him gently.

At firts, he thought that it was Ten who was hugging him, but when he turned around, he found a face that he wasn't expecting.

"Good morning, hyung" Yukhei said, smiling happily at him.

"Xuxi" Jungwoo exclaimed, happily hugging the younger back. He had missed him so much. It felt so good to finally hug him after years of only seeing his face through a screen.

"I'm here, hyung. I missed you so much" Yukhei said as he buried his nose in Jungwoo's hair. 

They separated a bit from each other. Jungwoo smiled. Yukhei's smile hadn't changed at all and he was still the same playful and gentle boy he had been back then. 

"Xuxi, you can't imagine how much I've missed you. Wait, what time is it? Ten didn't tell me when you were coming" He asked. He didn't know how long he had been sleeping.

"It's just before lunch time. My plane got here a little bit earlier and when I arrived my aunt told me that Ten wasn't feeling really well and he was home today, so I wouldn't be alone. When I arrived here, Ten told me everything and I came here to wait for you yo wake up" Yukhei explained as Jungwoo listened.

"He told you about what happened yesterday, right?" Jungwoo asked.

"Yes. I was so worried when he told me how he found you. How are you feeling?" Yukhei's eyes really showed his emotions and Jungwoo could tell how worried he was just by looking into the younger's eyes.

"I'm fine. I mean, the bruises hurt and all, but I'm feeling a lot better already. It's going to take a few days to heal, but I'll be okay" Jungwoo said. It was true that his body ached because of the injuries, but he had learnt how to live with it after so many years.

They talked for a while, catching up on things that they hadn't told each other through the phone. Yukhei told him about how life was in Thailand and how he had found some friends there after he left Korea. Jungwoo also told him about his friends, and especially about Doyoung and Jaehyun. He explained how he felt about them and how sad he was about the possibility of not being able to confess to them after what happened last night.

"Hyung, you should talk to them. What if it was just a misunderstanding? You shouldn't let yourself feel bad just because you don't ask them" Yukhei said, very convinced.

"I don't know, Xuxi. They are probably together now, and going between them is just inappropiate and rude. They probably want time with each other. And I don't think they would return my feelings in any way. Talking to them just looks like a disaster" Jungwol chuckled, trying to sound as if it didn't make him feel bad.

"I get that it's scary, but you should talk to them. A lot of people lose the opportunity to be with the persone they love because they were too scared to talk" Yukhei said seriously.

"Wow, Xuxi, when did you become so smart for these things?" Jungwoo joked. "Where is Ten?" He asked.

"He told me he had to take care of some things. He will be back soon, though. He already told his mother that you'll be staying here today, so there will be no problems in you staying here to have lunch and all" Yukhei said.

"Are you hungry? You should eat something" Yukhei suddenly got up from the bed. Jungwoo was surprised to see how tall his friend had become. He was even taller than him.

"Wow, Xuxi, you have grown a lot" Jungwoo laughed, accepting Yukhei's hand to get up from the bed. He winced a bit when he stretched his muscles too much, but he was okay.

They went downstairs and Yukhei gave Jungwoo some food.

"Ten left this food for you. He told me to make sure you eat while he's away" Yukehi told him and Jungwoo smiled. Even if he had grown so much, Yukhei was still as caring as he was before.

They ate and talked for a while. Suddenly, they heard someone entering the house.

"Yukhei? Jungwoo?" Ten called from the door.

"We're in the kitchen" Yukhei said.

Ten appeared and immediately sat down beside Jungwoo.

"How are you feeling? Have you eaten?" Ten asked.

"I'm feeling better. I just ate what you left me. Xuxi told me that you talked with your mother, too" Jungwoo answered.

"Yeah. And I've solved your problem. I installed a lock on your door. A stronger one. That should keep you protected when you want yo go back" Ten said.

"Really? How?" Jungwoo asked, not believing his best friend.

"Your parents are out all morning. I just went to get the strongest lock I could find and installed it in your door. That way you can be protected when you want to go back" Ten smiled proudly.

"Thank you so much, Tennie" Jungwoo hugged his best friend and Ten laughed while hugging him back.

Jungwoo knew that he would have to go back to his house at some point, but knowing that he would be at least a bit more protected helped a lot.

* * *

Doyoung was woken up by his mother.

"C'mon, Doyoung. You have to go to class" She said and when he finally sat up on the bed, she went out of his room. 

Doyoung rubbed his eyes, looking for his phone to see what time it was. Then, he remembered that he had left his phone at Jaehyun's house on Saturday, and he hadn't remembered to go for it.

He sighed and started preparing to go to school. He wanted to see Jungwoo and Jaehyun again. Even if he had seen Jaehyun on Saturday afternoon, he wanted to see him again and, this time, with Jungwoo as well.

When he had gone back to Jaehyun's house on Saturday, he had ended up staying there until late and his mother had gone to pick him up. They had stayed together for most of the day, not wanting to separate from each other after talking about what they thought on Jungwoo's situation. They wanted the comfort each other could give, even if they also wanted to have the younger close to them in those moments.

Doyoung got dressed quickly, sighing when he looked at how that particular shirt wasn't making him look good at all. He ignored it, at least for now. His therapist had told him to try to use clothes that he didn't like that much and try to think positively about them. He hadn't thought on putting that into practice, but it seemed like today would be a day to start.

He quickly brushed his teeth and brushed his hair, going downstairs to find his mother and father having breakfast.

"Good morning" He greeted them.

"Good morning, honey" His mother answered, smiling gently at him.

"Good morning" his father said while eating a toast. His mother glanced at him, but didn't comment on the fact that he was talking with his mouth full of food.

"I have to go now. I didn't know it was this late" Doyoung said. He picked an apple and the salad his mother had prepared him for lunch and rushed out of his house, quickly saying goodbye to his parents and Jeno, who had just got out of bed.

He rushed through the streets, quickly walking towards their highschool. He wasn't that late, honestly, but he liked to have some time to talk to his friends before entering the class.

Today, he had all his classes with Kun and Ten. He was glad that those two were with him in most of his classes because now he usually enjoyed those classes more. Last year, he and Kun got separated into different classes and Doyoung was a bit lonely. It wasn't like he didn't have any friends or that he didn't like the people in his class, but he was rather shy and often stayed by himself unless other people approached him first.

Kun was really similar to him, a little shy and reserved, but over the years, Doyoung got to see the dorky and funny side he had. He was also really caring and he often found him nagging at his friends like Doyoung himself. They were really close after all those years of knowing each other. Ten, on the other hand, wasn't shy at all. He was very talkative and he didn't have any problems in telling people to stop when they were being too much to either of them. He was also really protective with all of them, a trait he had developed after protecting Jungwoo for years. He always tried to appear cold and he loved to tease them, but he was a softie inside and he cared a lot for them.

Doyoung slowed his pace once he saw the building of his highschool. He looked at the doors and recognized his friends, who were still in the entrance instead of entering the building like everyone else.

Taeyong noticed him arriving and waved at him when he finally got to where they were.

"Good morning" Doyoung said and all of them replied, smiling.

"What happened to you? Did you like the bed that much?" Yuta asked jokingly. It was very rare for Doyoung to arrive late.

"Ha ha, very funny" Doyoung said sarcastically. "I didn't have my phone and my mother woke me up a bit later" Doyoung said.

"And where was your phone? Did you lose it?" Kun asked.

"Nope, Jaehyunnie had it" Doyoung said, looking at Jaehyun that was arriving now, his pace a bit fast. That wasn't very uncommon, since Jaehyun was usually the last one to arrive.

"Good morning!" He said cheerfully. "Hyung, I've brought your phone" He looked through the things in his bag, finally founding the phone. 

"Thanks" Doyoung said, putting his phone in his pocket.

"Why did you have his phone?" Johnny asked confused.

"I left it at his house the other day" Doyoung said. Johnny and Yuta opened their mouth to say something, probably to fluster them, but Jaehyun talked before them.

"Where are Ten-hyung and Jungwoo? The classes will start soon" Jaehyun said, looking to the street he had just crossed. Now, only a few students were walking to the gates of the building, most of the students already inside.

"I don't know. They haven't said anything on the groupchat either" Taeyong said, checking his phone again.

It was weird for them not to say anything if they weren't going to school. It was also weird that the two of them weren't going to school on the same day when they had never stayed at home.

Doyoung frowned and texted Jungwoo, trying to see if the younger answered him. 

The bell rang, making them start walking inside. When Doyoung was about to go to his class with Kun, separating from the rest, Jaehyun grabbed his wrist.

"I have to tell you something later" Jaehyun whispered to him. He was really close, and Doyoung could feel his face heat up.

"Okay" Doyoung said and they went to their own classes.

Doyoung kept thinking about what Jaehyun had told him. What was so important that he couldn't tell him at that moment? He would have to wait to know.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doyoung and Jaehyun meet Jungwoo's parents and they have... more questions?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :D I'm back again with another chapter and this is one of the last ones, yep, we're reaching the end of this :') Well, I don't have it planned yet, but we have maybe three chapters to go.
> 
> Thank you so much for everyone who has left comments and kudos so far ♡ you guys make me want to keep on writing and improving and knowing that you are enjoying this is just amazing for me ;u;
> 
> Also, don't forget to support the comeback of the Dreamies :) I'm not ready for it but I also can't wait xD 
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter and kudos and comments are really appreciated♡ Stay safe and healthy♡

The bell finally rang, signalling the beginning of lunch. Doyoung quickly gathered his things and went to meet his friends to eat. 

Ten and Jungwoo still hadn't said anything, and they probably hadn't come to class either. Doyoung had even tried to talk to them individually, but the messages were still unanswered. And Doyoung was still thinking about what Jaehyun had told him earlier. He hoped Jaehyun was referring to lunch and not to the end of the day, because Doyoung was really curious.

Doyoung arrived at where they usually sat, being the first one to arrive there. After a minute or two, the rest of his friends arrived at the table and started talking. 

"Ten and Jungwoo haven't answered yet" Taeyong said, a little worry lingering in his voice.

"Don't worrry too much. They will tell us soon what's happening. They probably slept too much or something like that" Yuta said, trying to lift Taeyong's mood. 

Taeyong wasn't the only one who felt a little bit concerned with Ten and Jungwoo's absence. They all felt uneasy about it. It was weird for them to miss class. Jungwoo always said that he liked to spend time with them in school, not in class, but when they were at lunch together or in the hallways between classes. Ten didn't like school a lot, but he wasn't keen on skipping classes either. And the fact that they weren't answering any messages was also weird, but they didn't want to start assuming anything yet.

"Doyoung-hyung, can you come with me for a moment? I have to go to the library to get a few books and I need your help" Jaehyun said. Doyoung simply nodded, ignoring the knowing glances the rest of their friends were giving them.

They walked out of the cafeteria, walking towards the library and then, to a more hidden area in the hallway. 

"What do you want to tell me? I was thinking about it all morning. Is it something bad?" Doyoung said, not even letting Jaehyun speak.

"Well... I don't know? I was very confused when it happened" Jaehyun said, trying to explain what he felt.

"Tell me then" Doyoung answered.

"Okay. So, you left your phone at my house the other day, right?" Jaehyun asked.

"Yeah" Doyoung said.

"Well, last night, Jungwoo called you. But it didn't sound like a normal call. It was very very late, like almost 4 AM more or less, and he was just... very weird?" Jaehyun remembered what the younger said. 

"What? Why would he call so late?" Doyoung asked, now understanding the confusion in Jaehyun's face. 

"I don't know. I tried to ask him but he wouldn't answer to me" Jaehyun said.

"And what did he tell you?" Doyoung asked.

"Well, when I picked up, he called you, because it was your phone, obviously. His voice sounded really low and shaky, almost as if he was crying. When I answered, I was half asleep and I didn't remember that it was your phone, but when I talked he stayed silent. I tried to ask him what was happening and he just didn't answer. I think he was crying because all I could hear were shaky breaths and hiccups" Jaehyun said, remembering how worried he had become. "After a few minutes, he just told me that he had called by mistake and that he was sorry. Before I could say anything else, he hung up" Jaehyun said.

"What...? That doesn't make any sense" Doyoung said and started thinking. Why would Jungwoo call him in the middle of the night? And then say it was a mistake. It also bothered him that Jungwoo wasn't on school today, and Ten wasn't there either. 

"What if something happened to him?" Doyoung asked.

"Something like what?" Jaehyun asked.

"I don't know, but if he was calling me in the middle of the night crying, something was wrong for sure" Doyoung said. He was getting a bit anxious and Jaehyun could see it.

"Hyung, calm down. Don't think of the worst yet. We don't know what happened but maybe it wasn't something bad, maybe he called by mistake" Jaehyun tried to comfort the older, even if he himself knew that what he was saying was unlikely.

"No, Jae. This isn't something Jungwoo would do for no reason. And now Ten isn't here either and they aren't answering anyone" Doyoung's eyes were starting to get teary. "What if something happened to him? If something bad happened to him I wouldn't forgive myself, Jaehyun" Doyoung said.

"Hyung, take a deep breath for me, okay?" Jaehyun was starting to get worried. Doyoung was clearly distressed by this and he hated to see the older like that. Doyoung took a deep breath, but tears started to flow.

Jaehyun, seeing him cry, hugged Doyoung tightly, rubbing his back and letting the older calm down a bit.

After a few minutes, Jaehyun took Doyoung's face in his hands, drying his tears with his thumbs. Doyoung kept looking down, a bit embarrassed that Jaehyun had seen him like that.

"Doyoung-hyung, don't worry. Jungwoo would have called again if he was really in trouble and he was sick last week, so maybe he's just not feeling well. And don't blame yourself for everything. You're not alone, okay?" Jaehyun said gently and Doyoung nodded.

"Thanks for that" Doyoung said while cleaning his face with a tissue.

"You don't have to thank me, hyung. I'm here for you just like you're here for me" Jaehyun said, still hugging Doyoung. 

They were still very close, their noses almost touching. Jaehyun looked at the older's lips, then at his eyes. He was still a bit flushed from before, but in Jaehyun's eyes he looked as beautiful as always. 

Doyoung, on the other hand, couldn't help but admire Jaehyun's face. Doyoung saw Jaehyun look at his lips, and that made his heart start racing. He was getting more and more nervous, but he didn't stop Jaehyun from getting closer.

"What are you two doing here?" Mrs Lee, Jaehyun's English teacher said.

The sudden voice made them separate from each other abruptly, blushing furiously at the arrival of the teacher.

"I had something in my eye" Doyoung said quickly, still looking at the floor. 

"I was trying to help him" Jaehyun followed Doyoung, trying to make the teacher go away.

"Oh, really? I thought you guys were doing some... inappropiate things for a highschool" she said, smirking when she saw the boys look alarmed at her.

"N-No, his eye was just bothering him a lot. He even got teary eyed because of it" Jaehyun rushed to say. Doyoung pointed at his eyes while nodding as evidence.

"Oh, Mr Kim, you should go to see the nurse. That doesn't look good" She said, now concerned for the student.

"I-It's okay. Jaehyun helped me and now I'm better" Doyoung said.

"Oh, then I'll leave you alone. Go to see the nurse if it gets worse" She said as she went away.

Doyoung and Jaehyun looked at each other, not believing that the teacher had thought that it was all true. They waited for a few seconds and then they started laughing loudly.

They stayed there for a few minutes, trying to calm their laughters down. 

"Oh my god, I can't believe she fell for that" Jaehyun said, still giggling.

"I can't either. Oh god, that was amazing. We shoul become actors or something" Doyoung cleaned his tears, this time caused by the laughter.

"Yeah, maybe we could get famous" Jaehyun said, finally calming down. "We should go back or the others will start looking for us" Jaehyun said.

"Yeah, let's go. I'm still worried about Jungwoo, though" Doyoung said. 

"Why don't we visit him this afternoon? Maybe he can tell us what happened" Jaehyun suggested.

"Okay" Doyoung agreed and they went back to the cafeteria.

* * *

It was finally the end of the last class and Jaehyun found himself walking faster than usual towards the gates of their school. Sicheng followed him from behind, trying to keep up with his best friend's pace.

"Hey, lover boy, calm down. Doyoung-hyung isn't going to escape from you" Sicheng teased and Jaehyun blushed.

Sicheng had made sure to ask Jaehyun about everything and the other, being the sincere person he is, told Sicheng how flustered he felt whenever Jungwoo smiled at him or how happy he became when he saw Doyoung in the mornings. 

The Chinese, on the other hand, had also talked about how he and Yuta had started dating and how the Japanese boy had been in his mind for far longer than he had admitted at the beginning. Jaehyun was happy for Sicheng. He was a rather shy person and he usually hated when a person would be hovering over him or being too touchy, so Jaehyun had felt a bit bad for Yuta, knowing that he was a very direct and touchy person, even with his friends. He knew Yuta would have to work hard to finally make Sicheng reciprocate his feelings, but it had ended well.

Sicheng had been teasing him all morning, too. For someone who claimed that didn't know Korean very well, Sicheng had a big vocabulary when it came to tease Jaehyun. He had even managed to fluster him during English class while talking in English. That made Jaehyun feel kind of proud as well, seeing that Sicheng was at least getting better at the language.

Doyoung had told him that he would be waiting for him after classes ended as usual. It had become a habit to wait for each other after classes and he, Doyoung, Kun, Ten and Jungwoo always went back home together since they lived relatively close. Today, Kun wouldn't be going with them since he had to go to a classmate's house to do a project, so it would just be Doyoung and him. And Jaehyun was nervous. Oh boy, he was really nervous. He had been thinking about Doyoung since that moment during lunch and to say that he had been distracted by it was an understatement. 

He had been so close to Doyoung that he got flustered just by remembering the small distance separating them. He was able to see Doyoung's features really close and, if he had thought Doyoung was attractive before, he didn't have words for describing him after seeing him like that. He had also stared at his lips almost immediately and Doyoung surely had noticed, too, but he didn't regret it one bit. Jaehyun had thought about those lips a lot, trying to imagine how they would feel against his, and when he was about to finally see if those thoughts about them were true, that teacher had to come and ruin everything. He had felt angry, but after thinking for a moment, he had also felt a bit guilty. He liked Doyoung, of course, but he also liked Jungwoo, and he wouldn't feel right kissing Doyoung without him knowing about what he felt for the younger and without Jungwoo himself knowing.

Jaehyun had thought about the implications of loving them both after talking with Sicheng about it, and he had come to the conclussion that he liked them equally. He was aware that the possibility of just one of them returning his feelings was slim, but the possibility of both of them liking him back was just unthinkable for him. And, of course, that made him sad. He was almost sure that, if he decided to confess one day, he would like to talk to both, letting them know that he liked both, even if the result of that could be really bad. But, Jaehyun wasn't thinking on confessing any time soon, so that was just an hypothetical situation.

Sicheng kept poking him on his side, telling him to go slower, but he just kept walking, avoiding the students who were as eager as him to get out of the building. Finally, he was outside of the building, walking towards the gates where he saw Taeyong and Doyoung waiting. 

"Hey" Taeyong waved at them when they got to their spot.

"Hi, hyung" Sicheng said, approaching the older.

They talked for a bit while they got to the point where they separated. Taeyong and Sicheng said goodbye, going together to their houses as well, an Doyoung and Jaehyun were left alone.

"So, when do you want to go to Jungwoo's house?" Jaehyun asked, directly to the point.

"Mmh... I don't know because maybe if we go there directly they will be eating lunch and that's kind of rude, so maybe a bit later?" Doyoung said.

"Sure. I don't have anything to do today, so I'm yours all day" Jaehyun said, winking suggestively. Doyoung sighed and rolled his eyes at the younger's antics, but Jaehyun could see the blush that formed in the older's cheeks.

That was also something he didn't know he was able of doing. Jaehyun had never been the type of boy that would flirt or say any kind of suggestive or cheesy thing. However, when he was with Doyoung or Jungwoo, he would say things like that and without even thinking much about it. At first, he thought that it was because he enjoyed teasing them and seeing them get all red because of his words, but after noticing his feelings towards them, he always did it to see the cute faces they would make whenever he complimented them or said bolder things.

"Anyways, I wanted to ask you something, too" Doyoung said, still not looking back at Jaehyun.

"Sure, tell me"

"Well, my mother told me that she wanted me to invite some of my friends to our house to eat lunch one day. She knows Kun, Ten, Yuta-hyung and Taeil-hyung already, so I thought about telling you and Jungwoo since we always go home together anyways, but Jungwoo isn't here today, so I was thinking that maybe you would come? Of course, you don't have to come if you don't want to, I don't want to force you into anything, but it would make me really happy and my parents would also be very happy to know one of my new friends at least. Also, you already know Jeno and he was also really happy to know that you were Jeamin's brother so he was also excited, but you don't have to come if-"

"Hyung, stop" Jaehyun interrupted, laughing at how red Doyoung's face has become after talking so much without breathing. "Of course I want to go. My mother is out and Jaemin is still in Jeju. Also, you've been to my house a few times and we even had a sleepover the other day, so it's my turn to go to your house at last" Jaehyun said, smiling gently.

"O-Oh, really?" He asked and Jaehyun just nodded. "Then, let's hurry up. You wouldn't want to make my family wait" 

* * *

"I'm home" Doyoung said when they entered his house. Jaehyun followed, leaving their shoes at the entrance.

"Hi, honey" Doyoung's mother said as she approached the two boys. Her smile grew even bigger as she saw the other boy with Doyoung.

"Mom, this is Jaehyun, my friend. He's Jaemin's brother" Doyoung said as her mother greeted Jaehyun. Doyoung looked at Jaehyun for a moment, noticing the subtle blush he had.

"Nice to meet you, Jaehyun-ah. Doyoungie has talked a lot about you" she smiled, obviously wanting to embarrass her son a little.

"Mom" Doyoung whined.

"I hope all he said was good, then" Jaehyun chuckled.

"Of course, of course. Doyoungie really appreciates you if he has invited you here. He never brings someone here if he doesn't trust them a lot" she said as they walked towards the kitchen.

"Mom, stop it" Doyoung would really appreciate if his mother started talking about something else, but knowing her, she would just keep teasing him.

"Alright, I've prepared some different dishes since I didn't know what you liked. And I also expected more people to come, but it's alright" She said as she started putting more and more food on the table.

"Well, I also wanted to invite Jungwoo, but he didn't come to class today" He explained.

"Oh, what a pity. I would have loved to meet him too, since Doyoung is always talking about you two" she said.

They continued talking for a bit, Doyoung's mother asking Jaehyun some questions to get to know him a bit better and embarrass Doyoung just a bit more. Jaehyun, on the other hand, was a lot less nervous than before and was having a good time.

At some point, Doyoung's father arrived at the kitchen and greeted him as well. Jeno joined them too, asking Jaehyun where Jaemin if Jaemin had come with him.

"Nana is still in Jeju. He'll come back on Friday" he answered the younger boy.

"Aw, I want him to come back soon. Hyuck and Renjun keep teasing me and Nana is the only one who tells them to stop" Jeno pouted.

"Jeno, Donghyuck and Renjun are making fun of you?" Doyoung's father asked cautiously.

"Of course not. They're just annoying sometimes, but they are really good friends. I just miss Jaeminnie" Jeno said.

After a while, they finished eating and started tidying everything up. Jaehyun helped Doyoung to clean everything, even when Doyoung's mother kept telling him that it wasn't necessary.

Once they had finished, they went to Doyoung's bedroom to spend some time. They had decided to go to Jungwoo's house at around 5 PM, so they had some time to spare.

They decided to play some games. At first, they were taking it lightly, laughing at each other's mistakes. At some point, Jeno had joined them and they had some fun for a while. However, Jaehyun was very competitive, so he started playing more seriously, teasing Doyoung whenever he managed to beat him, resulting in a lot of bickering.

Before they had even noticed, it was almost 6 PM and they still had to go to visit Jungwoo.

"Hyung, it's already 6 PM!" Jaehyun exclaimed when he noticed the time on his watch.

"Really?!" He asked and looked at the time too. "Should we go to see Jungwoo now?" Doyoung asked. He wanted to check on Jungwoo even if it was a bit late, but if Jaehyun didn't want to go, they still had a chance to see him the next day on school.

"I still want to see him if we can. We can just visit him quickly, just to ask him why he didn't come to class today. And I'm also a bit intrigued by his house" Jaehyun said suddenly.

"Me too. I've wondered what may be happening to him in there since we talked the other day. Maybe we can get some answers for our questions" Doyoung said, getting up from his place in the bed.

"Then, let's go. We shouldn't wait any longer" Jaehyun said, following Doyoung. 

The older let his mother know that they were going out for a bit, telling her that they would be back before dinner. After talking that morning, Jaehyun's mother had decided that Jaehyun should also stay for dinner, as the boy let her know that he was alone for the day at his house, so he would be eating dinner at Doyoung's house as well.

The walk to Jungwoo's house was short since they lived almost in the same street. They were talking, nothing really important in the conversation, but it helped them with the nerves they were both feeling. What would they see there? Should they be going to Jungwoo's house at this time? What if the younger was in danger? What if what they had thought was true? They really didn't know what to expect, but they just hoped for the best and tried to stay positive.

Jaehyun had tried to convince himself that maybe they were thinking too much about it, that maybe Jungwoo was just really clumsy or his classmates were being assholes to him again, but he couldn't stop thinking about what Doyoung had told. He had tried to find and excuse, something to just... justify Jungwoo's actions and injuries, but none of them seemed to fit.

Doyoung, on the other hand, was a bit scared. At first, he tried to stay positive and think that what Jungwoo told them was the truth. However, after seeing the younger's back covered in bruises, he couldn't shake the feeling that sometging was really, really bad. He couldn't erase from his mind the image of the red and purple bruises covering Jungwoo's small back, going from the base of his neck until his lower back. And he had just seen his back, who knew what he had in other parts of his body. He just wished that, if what they were thinking turned out to be true, they would be able to help Jungwoo out of that situation.

They stopped when they finally reached the house. It looked like any other house in the street. Not too big, not too small either. It looked clean and and there was nothing out of the ordinary. A door and two windows by its side and two more windows on the first floor. The number 15 was above the door, in a little frame. There were some pots with some flowers growing in them, looking beautiful and colorful. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.

A house like that shouldn't make Doyoung and Jaehyun feel so uneasy, but it did. They looked at each other, sensing the anxiousness in the other. 

"Okay, I ring the bell and you talk" Jaehyun quickly said.

"What? No! I ring the bell and you talk!" Doyoung said.

"But hyung, you're the older. You should be the one talking!" Jaehyun said.

"That doesn't make any sense" Doyoung exclaimed.

"But I'm too nervous to talk properly" Jaehyun pouted.

"Aish, okay. I'll talk" Doyoung finally surrendered after seeing Jaehyun's pout. "Why are we even so nervous anyways? We're just visiting a friend" Doyoung said, trying to calm his nerves.

"Yeah, we shouldn't make such a fuss" Jaehyun smiled nervously.

"Okay, go on" Doyoung said and Jaehyun rang the bell.

They waited for a bit, already regretting coming. After some seconds, a woman opened the door. She didn't look too old, maybe a bit younger than Doyoung's mother, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hello, how can I help you?" She asked sweetly, smiling at the two boys. That made Doyoung snap out of his trance.

"H-Hello, we're Jungwoo's friends and we're sorry for visiting at such an hour, but we came here to see him since-" Doyoung was talking when he was suddenly interrupted.

"Sorry, but no one with that name lives here" she said suddenly and Doyoung and Jaehyun could see how the once sweet smile turned tense and more like a grimace.

"B-But we come back with him everyday from school and he always comes here-" Jaehyun tried to say but was also interrupted.

"Kid, I said that no one called Jungwoo lives here. Only my husband and I live here and we don't have any children so you must have made a mistake" she said, her tone getting even more annoyed and intimidating. The disgust in her voice when he said Jungwoo's name didn't go unnoticed.

Jaehyun and Doyoung were out of words. Doyoung glanced at the number of the house, just to check if they had come to the wrong house. 15. No, this should be Jungwoo's house.

"Who is it?" A voice said from inside the house. Behind the woman, a tall man appeared, looking a bit angry.

"It's no one. These kids just got a bit lost" she said as she gave a glance to the man, who was probably her husband. "Isn't that right?" She asked, smiling again. However, it sounded more like a threat than a kind question.

"Y-Yeah, sorry. We'll get going" Doyoung said as he dragged Jaehyun with him away from the house.

"These kids nowadays, interrupting dinner with their bullshit" they heard the man say before the door closed again.

They weren't expecting that at all. 

They had expected to even see some pretry bad things, but that was completely unexpected for them.

"Hyung, that was Jungwoo's house, right?" Jaehyun asked, still a bit confused by the whole situation.

"Yeah, at least I think so. It's the house Jungwoo always enters when we come back from school. Number 15" Doyoung said.

"But then this doesn't make any sense" Jaehyun said, even more confused. "Are you really sure we didn't go to the wrong place?" He asked again.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Look, that's Ten's house. Just in front of Jungwoo's" Doyoung signalled.

"Then, why do they say that they don't have any children or that Jungwoo doesn't live there? And with such a disgusted tone?" Jaehyun was still trying to comprehend what had happened.

"I don't know, but this just gave us even more questions instead of the answers we wanted" Doyoung mumbled, more to himself.

"Then, why don't we go to Ten's house? Maybe he will know where Jungwoo is or... if this is really his house" Jaehyun suggested and Doyoung nodded.

They quickly crossed the street. Doyoung and Jaehyun had been on Ten's house before, so there wasn't a chance that they were going to the wrong house this time. But, then how could the house in front of his be Jungwoo's house? 

Doyoung rang the bell, waiting for someone to open the door. In a few seconds, Ten was opening the door to his house, smiling at them when he noticed who they were.

"Doyoungie, Jaehyunnie, come in!" He said as he ushered them inside the house. "What brings you here?" He asked.

"Well, we wanted to see you and Jungwoo because you didn't come to class today and you didn't say anything" Doyoung answered, taking his shoes off and following Ten.

"Oh, that..." Ten said, trying to think of an excuse. "Jungwoo wasn't feeling well today. I think he was still a bit sick, so he decided not to go to class. And for me, I... had to wait for someone" Ten said.

"Wait for someone?" Jaehyun asked, a bit confused at Ten's answer.

"Yeah, my cousin from Thailand, Yukhei, is coming here to stay for a while and my mother told me to stay here today to show him around and all of that" Ten said. He was taking them to the living room without even noticing. When they were about to enter, he realized something. Jungwoo was in the living room with Yukhei. Jungwoo, who was covered in bandages and even some bruises, who didn't want them to know anything about his abussive parents because he didn't know how they would react. 

However, when Ten noticed what he was doing, they were already in the living room. Doyoung and Jaehyun smiled when he saw Jungwoo in the couch, talking to a boy they didn't know. 

"Jungwoo" Jaehyun said as he approached the younger. Doyoung followed behind.

Jungwoo smiled brightly at the sound of those voices, excited about seeing them. He got up from the couch, hugging Jaehyun back when the older opened his arms.

"Hyung, what a surprise!" Jungwoo said, burying his face in Jaehyun's shoulder.

"Hey, I want a hug too!" Doyoung said, and Jungwoo just giggled, separating from Jaehyun and hugging Doyoung.

"What are you doing here?" Jungwoo asked.

"We wanted to see you and Ten. You didn't come to class and you didn't say anything" Doyoung explained, separating a bit, but still close to Jungwoo.

When he looked at Jungwoo again, he finally noticed something that he hadn't seen before. Jungwoo's hands were covered in bandages and there were some bruises in his face as well. If he looked closely, he could see more bandages peeking from under his hoodie and even in his forehead.

"What happened to you?" Doyoung asked.

"What?" Jungwoo asked. He didn't know what the older was talking about.

"The... bandages. Did someone hurt you?" Doyoung asked again and he could see Jungwoo's smile disappearing from his face. He felt the younger tense up in his arms.

"O-Oh, I-I..." Jungwoo trailed off, still not knowing what to answer. 

"He got dizzy because he wasn't feeling well and he fell and hit himself. He was trying to go downstairs and he fell, right Jungwoo?" Ten asked, trying to save his best friend.

"Y-Yeah! It hurt a lot, haha" Jungwoo tried to smile again, but Jaehyun and Doyoung could tell that his smile wasn't true.

"Are you sure?" Jaehyun asked, not believing Jungwoo.

"Of course" the younger tried to sound more convincing this time, but Jaehyun and Doyoung still didn't believe him. "Anyways, this is Yukhei" Jungwoo signalled at the boy on the couch, who had been silently watching the whole situation unfold.

"Hello, I'm Wong Yukhei. I'm Ten's cousin. Nice to meet you" He said as he bowed slightly.

"Hi, I'm Kim Doyoung, one of Ten and Jungwoo's friends" Doyoung said. He was a bit bothered, because Jungwoo just tried to distract them from asking anything else, but he wasn't going to be rude with Yukhei when he hadn't done anything.

"And I'm Jung Jaehyun, nice to meet you" Jaehyun greeted the younger.

"He'll be going to our highschool next year, so I expect you guys to treat him nicely" Ten said, putting his hands on his hips.

After that, they talked for a while about Yukhei and where he came from. Doyoung and Jaehyun were still a bit uneasy with Jungwoo's bruises that were clearly not from falling, but they didn't say anything. They would have time to discuss it in the future.

Ten's mother arrived at the house, and Doyoung and Jaehyun decided that they had to go back to Doyoung's house since it was almost time for dinner.

"Wait, Jaehyun-hyung is going to your house, too?" Jungwoo asked.

"Yeah, he's staying for dinner" Doyoung said.

Jungwoo just nodded. He tried not to think too much about it, but with what happened the other night when he tried to call Doyoung and this, it was hard for him not to think that there was something going on between them.

"Oh, can I ask you something, Jungwoo?" Jaehyun said interrupting Jungwoo's thoughts.

"Sure" he answered.

"Your house, is the number 15, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. Why?" The younger asked instead.

"Nothing, it's just that I hadn't noticed how similar to Doyoung's house is" Jaehyun said and Jungwoo nodded. He really hoped his house wasn't similar to Doyoung's, at least, not in the situation that was inside of it.

Jaehyun and Doyoung said goodbye and went back to Doyoung's house for dinner. During their walk back, they started talking.

"That... wasn't how I expected this visit to go" Jaehyun said.

"Me neither. I still don't understand what happened at Jungwoo's house. That woman should be Jungwoo's mother, but she said they didn't have any children" Doyoung said.

"And I asked Jungwoo if that was really his house, and he confirmed it, so we definetely didn't go to the wrong house" Jaehyun said.

"And Jungwoo was hurt again. And this time, it looked really bad" Doyoung added.

"And also the fact that he didn't come to class today... Hyung, I've got a bad feeling about this" Jaehyun said.

"Yeah, there's something really bad going on there... We agreed that we should let him tell us when he's comfortable about it, but maybe we should ask him directly. Jaehyun, I don't like to see him hurt like that" Doyoung really wanted to let Jungwoo come to them when he was ready, but it was evident that the younger was suffering and he didn't like that.

"That might be a good idea. I don't want him to be in pain if we can avoid it" Jaehyun said.

"Okay, then we should ask him soon but not too soon. What about this Saturday? We don't have any classes and we have the whole weekend to talk about it. I also don't want to ask him in the middle of the school" Doyoung suggested.

"Sounds good to me" Jaehyun agreed. "I just hope we can help him because it seems pretty obvious that there's something bad happening to him" 

"I hope that too" Doyoung said, still thinking about the younger.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If things were messy before, everything gets even messier now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone :D this chapter is an important one and it will change many things on the story. As I told you in the previous chapter, we're nearing the end of the story so things will start getting more interesting now.
> 
> Also, thank you so much for all the comments and all the kudos :')♡ your support motivates me to keep writing this story and knowing so many people enjoy it makes me really happy♡
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter♡

"I'm screwed" Jungwoo said the moment Jaehyun and Doyoung left Ten's house. "They definetely know something" he said, running his fingers through his hair.

"And what about it? I thought they already knew about your parents" Yukhei said.

"No, they don't know. Or they shouldn't. I haven't told them anything and neither has Ten" Jungwoo said.

"But what's so bad about them knowing? I thought they were your friends and you trusted them" Yukhei didn't understand why Jungwoo was so adamant in keeping his secret.

"Of course I trust them. They even helped me when I had a panic attack, just after meeting them. I knew they were good people since then..." Jungwoo remembered when that happened. He had been so afraid of them at the time, and he was expecting them to start mocking him but he had been surprised when they had helped him and made sure he was okay.

"Then, why don't you tell them about this? And not only the two of them, the rest of your friends, too. They might be able to help you" Yukhei suggested. Ten had gone to the kitchen a while ago, letting Yukhei and Jungwoo have this conversation that he had had with Jungwoo before. Maybe Yukhei would be able to make Jungwoo finally talk to them.

"Because I don't know how they are going to react. They might help, but what if they think that I'm too weird or that my situation is too problematic? I don't want to lose them" Jungwoo looked down as he curled in the couch. At some point in their conversation, they had gone back to the living room and now, they were sitting on the couch.

"But hyung, I don't think that can happen. If they like you as much as I think they do from what I've just seen, they would want to help you. They wouldn't blame you for something that's clearly not your fault" Yukhei said. He wanted Jungwoo to see what Ten and him were seeing.

"No, Yukhei. They've already put up with me for a long time. I don't want to burden them even more. I'm already doing that with you and Tennie. And I know that at some point, you'll get tired of me and my shitty situation and I'll be alone" Jungwoo didn't noticed his eyes filling with tears and one of them rolling down his cheek.

"Hyung, don't say that. Ten-hyung and I will be here with you. We won't leave you alone and you're not a burden to us! We love you a lot, so don't think like that, please" Yukhei said, approaching Jungwoo to hug him carefully.

Ten came back to the living room, running his hands through Jungwoo's hair. He knew that his best friend didn't want to tell anyone about his situation, and he understood his fear of being judged in a bad way and losing his friends, but Ten had got to know the rest of their group and he was sure that none of them would decide to abandon Jungwoo. Not even ignore his situation like other people had, they would try to help him in any way.

He was sure of that because he had seen how they had taken care of Jungwoo in school, protecting him from the other kids. If they were bad people, they would have just ignored the situation in fear of getting bullied too, or they would have started bullying him as well. Instead of that, they had been there for him since the moment they met and that was already an improvement of Jungwoo's life in school. Sure, there were things that they couldn't prevent, especially since none of them were in his class, but they made sure to help him whenever they could.

That's why he wanted Jungwoo to tell them, talk to them and understand that they would help him. Ten knew that all of them had noticed that there was more to Jungwoo's problems than the bullying in school. He was sure Taeyong knew since almost the beginning and Doyoung and Jaehyun had probably realized already since Jungwoo had spent a lot of time with them. Taeil, Johnny and Yuta were also observant and Sicheng, quiet and sweet Sicheng, who always kept his eyes on Jungwoo when they were in the hallways, knew that those bruises weren't caused by his classmates. Kun had suspected since even before Jungwoo had got closer to him. He had always been curious about Jungwoo and always asked Ten if the younger was doing good. Ten also knew that one of his reasons to encourage them to meet his friends was that he cared about Ten and Jungwoo.

Ten knew that thinking that way was bad because he wanted to respect Jungwoo's decision, but he had secretly wished the others would discover Jungwoo's situation, just to be sure that Jungwoo had as much support as he could. He deserved to be helped and he deserved to escape the living hell that was his house.

He wanted them to know, but he also wouldn't tell them. They were clever enough to notice it, and he wanted to respect Jungwoo in that sense.

"Just, think about it, okay? Doyoung and Jaehyun won't leave you alone. They care about you, Jungwoo, and so does everyone else" Ten really hoped Jungwoo would reach out to them.

* * *

Jungwoo took a deep breath as he went up the ladder, entering his room. He had decided to go back as soon as possible, not wanting to risk staying too long at Ten's house and give his parents more reasons to beat him up.

Ten was watching him go up, making sure Jungwoo made it to his room safely.

"Be careful, Woo. And if you don't feel like coming to school tomorrow, don't worry. I'll wait for you and if you aren't here 10 minutes before classes start, I'll go, okay?" Ten asked.

"Sure. But I don't want to stay here if I don't have to, so I'll probably go" he answered. He knew that he would have to explain a lot of things, but just thinking about staying in his house when he could be in school with his friends made him shudder.

"Sleep well and good night. I'll see you tomorrow" Ten said, waving at him.

"Good night, Tennie. And thanks for everything" Jungwoo waved back.

He saw Ten cross the road and enter in his house through the window. It was late, almost 12 AM, since they had waited until as late as possible for Jungwoo to go back. He ended up eating with Ten and Yukhei, the three of them alone since Ten's parents said they would be working until late that day. 

Jungwoo turned around, seeing his room for the first time since his parents almost killed him there. He knew Ten must have cleaned it up, since everything was on its place and there was no sign of blood or glass shards in the room. He was very out of it when he left, but he remembered seeing all his clothes around the room, some glass on the floor from the bottle his mother broke on his head and blood smeared everywhere.

He was a bit hesitant, but he approached the door quietly, not wanting to even let his parents know he was there. He inspeceted his door, smiling when he saw the big and new lock that Ten had installed for him. The previous one was strong, but it was also old and, after all those years of being there, it had finally broken. He felt more relieved but now he couldn't shake the fear of his father entering and breaking the lock again. 

He shook his head. 'No, Jungwoo, Ten said it was the strongest one he could find. You will be okay here. You just have to stay here for a few more hours until you can get out again and see your friends' He thought.

It was pretty late, and he was feeling quite tired, but he knew that he wouldn't be sleeping that night. He laid down anyways, resting his aching body. He felt insecure in the room, and he was very nervous about what the others would say the next day when he saw Jungwoo. He had planned on putting the biggest hoodie he had, to try to hide the bandages peeking out from his neck and his back. He could dress so that only the bandages in his forehead and his face would be seen. His hands would be trickier to hide, but pockets were always an option.

He sighed. His head was already hurting just by thinking about everything that he would have to explain tomorrow. He had already told Jaehyun and Doyoung that he wasn't feeling well and he fell while going downstairs, but he knew that they hadn't believed him at all. He couldn't change it now, but he didn't know what to say to them either, so he would go with that.

He thought about what Ten and Yukhei had said earlier. Should he tell them? Would they freak out? He didn't know. In the back of his mind, a voice kept telling him that they were his friends and they had protected him since they met, so they surely help him again. But a louder voice also told them that he was just a bother to everyone, and he shouldn't make his problems other people's problems too. He had already caused a lot of trouble.

His mind went to Doyoung and Jaehyun. Maybe he should tell them? They had probably noticed something was off anyways, so why not tell them? Then he remembered that Jaehyun and Doyoung were probably dating by now. They had slept together and Jaehyun had been at Doyoung's house for dinner, maybe meeting his parents as his boyfriend. Jungwoo sighed. They didn't need him and his abusive family, they were too much trouble. Jungwoo had no place in there.

He tried to think of other things and stay a bit happy. Yukhei being in Korea again had made him happier than he had been in months. He had missed him a lot and he was staying there with them for a while.

He started remembering the times when little Jungwoo, Ten and Yukhei played in Ten's house until it was really late. He smiled at those memories, when he was young and he didn't have as many worries as now. Then he remembered what happened when Ten's mother accompanied him to his house, leaving him with his parents without knowing what was happening when she left. He remembered all the slaps and kicks he got because he kept going to play at Ten's house. 

His parents hadn't always been there, or at least, he thought so. His first memories were plagued of his parents, but they weren't the ones that abused him now. He remembered seeing his father smiling at him when he said a word correctly or when he started walking towards him. He remembered seeing his mother playing with him and telling him stories when he went to bed. He was pretty sure those weren't dreams, because all the dreams he had with his parents were always nightmares, so they had to be true. He didn't know anyone else in his family to ask if his parents had been like that at some point with him, since he hadn't ever met them and didn't even know if they existed.

Then, something happened. Something that even him didn't understood fully yet. He remembered on his 5th birthday, the only ones in the house were Jungwoo, his mother and his father. No friends were invited that day and no gifts were given to Jungwoo. He remembered seeing his parents fight, not really sure why, but they were fighting. He had been upstairs, in his room, drawing something in a paper when he heard the shouts. He got curious and decided to go to see what was going on. And he remembered vividly standing in the door of the kitchen when both of them looked at him, directly in the eyes and said "it's your fault". That day, Jungwoo received the first punch of the many that were to come.

After that day, he started living in fear of his own parents. Living in fear of staying in his house. Living in fear of going in and out of the house to go to school. He started living covered in bruises and cuts, at first from his parents, and then also from his classmates. He didn't have anyone to take care of him, to call for help. His parents always told him that they didn't have any brothers and that his grandparents had died a long time ago. 

He remembered how his mother once told him that he wasn't their son. He had only been a curse, so he wasn't considered her son anymore, at least by her. And judging by his father's nasty glares and hard kicks in his stomach, he didn't either.

It was also their fault that he didn't make any friends when he was young beside Ten. Not many children approached him when he was little, but his parents also made sure that Jungwoo wasn't going anywhere that wasn't his house and the school. When he was younger, he didn't understand why, but when he grew up, he finally got it. If he went to different places like parks or other children's house, there was a bigger chance that someone would notice the bruises Jungwoo had covering his body. They didn't want to risk anyone discovering their abuse, knowing they could go to jail for that, but they also couldn't just leave Jungwoo in the streets. They had tried to give him to adoption, but they couldn't.

So, for almost two years, Jungwoo's life consisted on going to school in the morning and going back to house to be punched and kicked for the rest of the day, being the end of his parents' frustrations.

That changed when Ten moved to his current house. He and his mother had gone to Jungwoo's house because Ten had told his mother he had seen a little boy entering that house and he wanted to meet him. Jungwoo's mother hadn't been happy about it, but as to not seem suspicious, she had to let Jungwoo play with Ten in Ten's house. 

Ten had helped him so much at the time, and without even knowing it yet. 

Jungwoo was still curious as to why his parents behaviour towards him had changed so much. What had he done? What was his fault? He didn't know, since his parents never mentioned anything, opting for violence instead of talking.

He sighed again, trying to find a comfortable position. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep or at least rest his body. Tomorrow would be a long day.

* * *

He opened his eyes when he felt his phone vibrate in his desk. He suppressed a groan as he got up from the bed, pressing his hand in his stomach to try to reduce the pain. He stopped his alarm, quickly rushing to the bathroom to take a shower. He was taking a big risk, since he knew the moment his parents knew he was there, he would be in trouble. 

He could feel anxiety rising in his chest, making him wheeze to get air in his lungs. He couldn't have an attack in the shower, that would only make him take longer. He finished his shower as quickly as he could, rushing back to his room to get dressed.

He put his biggest hoodie on, a little relieved that the fabric wasn't irritating his skin too much. He got his bag and his phone and stayed still, listening to every little noise inside the house.

He didn't hear anything, so he was almost sure that his parents hadn't woken up yet. He slowly opened his door, walking quietly towards the door. He had made sure to wake up a little earlier, just not to risk encountering his parents. 

He felt himself getting more and more anxious as he walked downstairs. Luckily, he was able to get out of his house without any problems and he could finally breathe properly. He ran towards Ten, who was waiting for him in front of his house. Ten smiled when he saw Jungwoo running towards him, a smile in his face as well.

"You're okay, right?" Was the first thing that Ten said when Jungwoo finally arrived where he was.

Jungwoo nodded, quickly hugging Ten. He had been scared, but he was now more calm. He had missed his friends and now he could finally see them. It might not seem like it was that long ago, but he was used to see them everyday or almost everyday, so it had been weird for him not to see them for almost four days.

They walked at a slow pace since they were a bit early today.

"You didn't sleep last night at all, right?" Ten asked.

"Nope. I knew that would happen anyways" Jungwoo said, shrugging.

Ten sighed.

"You should try to sleep a bit today. You have to let your body recover after... that" Ten said. Jungwoo nodded and smiled. His best friend had good intentions, but he knew it wasn't that easy.

They finally arrived, seeing Taeyong, Doyoung and Kun at the entrance. 

"Good morning" they both said, making the other three look at them.

"Jungwoo, Ten! Good morning! What happened to you yesterday?" Taeyong started talking quickly, making Ten and Jungwoo smile.

"Wait, Jungwoo, what happened?" Kun asked, approaching Jungwoo.

Jungwoo started getting nervous. They could only see the bandages on his face, right? 

"I-I fell when I was trying to go downstairs. I was feeling a bit sick yesterday" he said, smiling at Kun, trying to convince him. 

Jungwoo saw Taeyong and Kun looking at him, confused. He could also feel Doyoung's gaze and, even if he hadn't said anything, he knew he was trying to figure out if that was true or not.

"And I had to stay home to wait for my counsin that was coming yesterday" Ten said.

That luckily made everyone's attention go to Ten, who started talking about Yukhei. Jungwoo relaxed a bit. He didn't like having everyone's attention. He could still feel someone's gaze on him, probably Doyoung's, but he decided to ignore it for now. He'll talk to him later and Jaehyun would want some sort if explanation as well.

As time passed, the rest of their friends arrived, all asking the same questions and getting the same answers from Ten and Jungwoo. 

Soon enough, classes started and they had to go inside. Jungwoo didn't know if he preferred being inside of class or staying with his hyungs while they were trying to guess what had really happened to him.

He said goodbye to Yuta, Johnny and Taeyong and went inside his class. As expected, some of his classmates started bothering him right away.

He sighed, ignoring them as much as he could. He knew that talking back only made them even more pissed and consequently, more violent. He didn't know if he would be able to stand anything with the state his body was in and he didn't want to test it either.

Luckily, they seemed to get bored after a while and when they got scolded by the teacher because they kept talking, they finally left him alone. 

The rest of his classes were similar to that and sooner than expected, he was sitting between Johnny and Jaehyun, eating a sandwich that Taeyong had prepared him.

Jungwoo had tried to tell him that he didn't have to do that everyday, but the older kept on bringing him food and making him eat it, telling him that if he didn't eat it he'd have to throw it and that made him feel guilty.

He got startled when he felt an arm surround his chest, jumping slightly at the sudden touch. He looked to his left, where Jaehyun was talking to Yuta, his arm around Jungwoo.

Any other day, he wouldn't have a problem with thaht, happy to be close with Jaehyun. Today though, his arm was placed right where one of the worst bruises was, and the pressure was hurting him, a lot, bringing tears to his eyes.

He knew that if he moved, it would be suspicious, but he couldn't bear the pain anymore. He started to move a bit, trying to make Jaehyun move his arm without much luck. The only thing he achieved was an even stronger grip from Jaehyun. 

That made him suck in a breath, trying not to whimper from the pain. Jaehyun, who finally noticed something was wrong, looked at him. He frowned when he saw the expression on Jungwoo's face and his deep breaths. Then, he looked at his arm and how Jungwoo was moving a bit, as if trying to get away from it.

Jaehyun, remembering what Doyoung had told him about Jungwoo's back, removed his arm from around him, getting closer to him to talk. He looked around and relaxed a bit when he saw that the only one who had noticed their exchange was Doyoung, who was looking with worried eyes at them.

"Jungwoo, are you alright? Does anything hurt?" He asked quietly, waiting for the younger to calm down a bit to answer.

"I'm o-okay, don't worry. It's just that my foot was getting a bit numb, that's all" The younger smiled, but Jaehyun could tell that his smile was forced.

"Oh... okay. But if I ever hurt you, even if I'm not noticing it, tell me, okay? The last thing I want is to hurt you without even knowing" Jaehyun said, taking the younger's hand. 

He saw the change in Jungwoo's eyes. He smiled again and, this time, his smile looked sad. 

"Of course, hyung. But I know you would never hurt me, at least willingly" he said.

Jungwoo started talking to Johnny and Taeyong, leaving a confused Jaehyun thinking about his words. The younger looked sad and the only thing Jaehyun could do was think if he had done or said something that could have hurt the younger.

They spent the rest of lunch like that, with their hands linked and with their own thoughts in their heads, not letting them focus completely.

* * *

Doyoung saw the interaction between Jungwoo and Jaehyun, frowning when the younger face was contorted in pain.

At that moment, he knew he couldn't let this continue. He had to stop that now. He couldn't bear to see Jungwoo in pain and hurt everywhere. They had accorded in waiting until Friday to talk to Jungwoo, but he couldn't wait any longer. He got his phone out, searching for Jaehyun's contact to send him a text.

**From: Doyoung**   
**To: Jae**   
**Jaehyun**   
**We have to talk to Jungwoo today**   
**I can't wait until Friday**

He glanced around, disappointed when he saw that Jaehyun hadn't noticed that he was texting him. He would have to wait until later.

When they went back to their classes, he hoped Jaehyun would check his phone at least. Luckily, a response came after a few minutes.

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**I was thinking about that too**   
**He is hurt and I hurt him before**   
**We have to talk to him**

**From: Doyoung**   
**To: Jae**   
**Okay, so we can meet him this afternoon**   
**What time is better for you?**

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**Maybe at around 5?**   
**I have a project to do today but I'll finish it before**

**From: Doyoung**   
**To: Jae**   
**Okay, we'll meet at 5 in the park between our houses**   
**There's almost no one there anyways and my parents and my brother are in my house today**

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**My mother is at my house today too**   
**She's come back earlier than expected and will be staying with me this week**

**From: Doyoung **   
**To: Jae**   
**Oh, that's great!**   
**And your brother is coming back this week too, right?**

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**Yeah, I have more company now**   
**Anyways, should I text Jungwoo and ask him if he can come?**

**From: Doyoung**   
**To: Jae**   
**Sure**   
**Don't tell him that we want to talk to him, though**   
**Tell him we'll just hang out for a while**   
**He is always trying not to talk about his bruises and all that stuff**

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**Okay**

Doyoung set his phone aside, finally listening to the teacher who kept talking in English about things Doyoung didn't understand.

After a few minutes, he saw the screen of his phone turn on, signaling a new message.

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**He said he will come**   
**How do you plan on asking him?**   
**I don't want to make him uncomfortable but we have to talk about it**

**From: Doyoung **   
**To: Jae**   
**I'll go straight to the point**   
**He will be uncomfortable, he would have talked to us earlier if he wasn't**   
**But we can't let him keep getting hurt**

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**Okay**   
**Sorry, I have to go**   
**I think my teacher has seen me**   
**See you later, hyung!**

Doyoung smiled, sending a quick goodbye text to him as well. He was nervous, but he knew that they couldn't avoid that conversation anymore.

There was also another conversation that he shouldn't avoid either, but he was a bit more coward in the topic of feelings, so he'll wait a bit more.

* * *

Jungwoo found himself in Ten's house, eating what his mother had prepared. Ten had told him that he wouldn't let him go to his house so soon and that his mother had already made food for him. She said that they had to celebrate Yukhei's arrival in some way, so she decided eating enormous amounts of food was the perfect one.

Yukhei was in front of him, telling him about his first day in his new school. He had been really nervous, but he had managed to meet a lot of people and even make some friends. 

"So, when it was time for lunch, I went with Kunhang and Dejun and I met the rest of their friends. They were a bit younger than us and they are way too energetic, but they seemed nice. Oh, and there was another boy called Mark that was our age. He was in the other class but he seemed really nice too" he said while eating his food.

"Wait, did you say Mark? Mark, as in Mark Lee?" Ten asked. Yukhei nodded, swallowing the food in his mouth.

"That's Taeyong's brother!" He said, excited that his little cousin had already made friends and one of them was also close to their group.

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot that Taeyong-hyung's brother is a year younger than me" Jungwoo said.

They continued talking for a bit, finishing the food. Once they were finished, they decided to go to Ten's room, just to relax for a while.

"I'll go to hang out with Jaehyun-hyung and Doyoung-hyung today" said Jungwoo when Ten suggested playing a game.

"When?" Yukhei asked, smiling playfully at Jungwoo.

"At 5. And no, it's not a date" Jungwoo smiled, hitting Yukhei softly. He would like for it to be a date, but he would appreciate what he got.

"Then we have time to play for a bit. It's just 4:10" Ten said, passing a controller to Yukhei.

They had been playing for a few rounds, bickering like little kids when one of the won, until Ten asked Jungwoo a question.

"Jungwoo, are you planning on telling them anything about your parents?" Ten asked. He really hoped Jungwoo would say something, but the younger was too stubborn.

"I told you that I don't want to tell them anything. I haven't changed my mind since last time" Jungwoo said, trying to keep playing and just ignore the conversation.

"But Jungwoo, what would be so bad about telling them? They wouldn't say anything and they could help you" Ten tried to make him see.

"Why are you bringing this up again? I told you last time that I won't tell them anything for now, why do you keep insisting?" Jungwoo was starting to get pissed at his best friend. Hadn't they talked about this enough?

"Oh, maybe because I want you to be more comfortable when you're around our friends? And maybe because it would be good for your safety?" Ten said, irony in his tone.

Yukhei kept looking at the two of them with big eyes. This was the first time he had seen them speak like that to each other, angry and frustrated. He didn't know what to do or how to stop them because they kept on talking.

"I'm comfortable around them!" Jungwoo yelled.

"Yes, hiding your bruises everyday and making up stupid excuses whenever you show up at school with a bandage on your face! How comfortable! Jungwoo, don't you think it would be better if you could count on them when you are in danger? What would have happened if I wasn't here the other day, when you called? Who would you have called? What will happen when I can't go and help you? What will happen then?" Ten said. He was yelling louder and louder, but he didn't mind. He was grateful that his parents had gone out for the afternoon.

"So that is why! You're tired of dealing with me aren't you? That's why you want me to tell them, so I wouldn't bother you anymore" Jungwoo said. His eyes were shining with tears and the anger seemed to be replaced by sadness.

"What?! That's not what I'm saying. I want the best for you, Jungwoo. Why are you saying such stupid things?" Ten said. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Come on, Ten. You've been bringing this up almost everyday since I told you I liked them. Besides, I knew you would get tired of me and my problems. I told you, didn't I?" Jungwoo said.

"For God'd sake, stop playing the victim and drowining in self-pitiness and listen to me for once!" Ten said.

"Playing the victim? Self-pitiness? But it's the truth! Why do you keep insisting on this? Why do you denied being tired of me when you clearly are? Look at you! If you wanted me to stop bothering you, you could have just told me!" Jungwoo started yelling again. He was furious, he was frustrated, he wanted to let everything out. 

"You know what? Maybe I'm tired of having to talk to you like I would to a five year old because you don't want to understand. Maybe I'm tired of trying to think for a solution to this situation when you just ignore everything I said. Do whatever the fuck you want, Jungwoo. I don't care anymore!" Ten yelled. 

Then, there was silence.

Jungwoo's breaths stoped for a second. Ten was in front of him, his breathing heavy after saying everything. He was looking down, to the ground, not even looking at him. The only thing Jungwoo could see in his eyes was anger, maybe even some disappointment. He let the words sink in. 

The words 'Ten doesn't care anymore' repeated in his head like a mantra. He felt his chest get tighter and breathing seemed to be a harder task each second that passed.

Ten looked at him again, and when Jungwoo met his eyes, he couldn't stop his mind from reminding him of the angry glare of his father and the disappointed gaze of his mother. 

Then, he ran. He went out of the house as fast as he could, opening doors with his eyes blurried by tears that kept falling from them. 

What had he just done? Why did he even talk like that to Ten? It was his fault. It was his fault. It was his own fault that Ten had got fed up with him. He was just trying to be a good friend and look out for him, but he just acted like a child and didn't even want to listen to him.

He was gasping for air by the time he came to a stop. He had reached the park. He hadn't even noticed he had gone there, his legs carrying him as far as they could from Ten's house. The park was far from their houses, so the burnt from his legs made more sense now.

He tried to clean his tears with his hands, but they just kept on appearing again, making his eyes and head hurt. He also tried to regulate his breathing, but it was impossible for him. 

He had to sit down, somewhere. No, he had to keep running. He kept walking around the park until he saw the two people he wanted to see the most and the least at this moment.

A few meters away from him, were Doyoung and Jaehyun hugging each other. They were looking at each other, their faces really close. Suddenly, they were kissing. 

If his chest felt tight before, now it was like a ton of bricks were on top of it, making it impossible for him to breathe.

'Why are you so surprised? They obviously were together. Did you really think either of them would like you like that? Did you really think they would consider dating someone as pathetic as you? Even Ten is tired of you, how would they even want to have to deal with you?"

His mind kept going to that dark place he always tried to avoid whenever he was alone. He wasn't in control of what was happening. Everything was happening so fast yet so slow.

He sobbed, quickly covering his mouth with his hands. He was pathetic, crying over something like this. He sould be happy, he should be happy for them! And he was, he was happy, he liked to see them kiss and love each other because they deserved people as amazing as them as their partners, but deep inside, he still had a tiny bit of hope. Hope for them to actually like him back, to be part of that and finally have a bit of happiness in his life. But he guessed he didn't deserve that either.

Why would he deserve it anyways? 

He felt his blood run cold when he saw two pairs of eyes looking back at him, meeting his eyes.

He started running again, ignoring the calls of his name. Someone was following him, one of them. But he didn't mind. He just kept on running. He ran and ran and ran until his legs gave up under him and he fell to the ground. 

The impact made every part of his body hurt and he stayed on the ground for a few seconds, gasping heavily and clutching his chest. He was feeling as if his lungs would explode at any moment.

After a while, he got up from the ground, still breathing heavily. He looked around, trying to clean his eyes to see where he was. He didn't recognize where he was. It was an empty street, surrounded by some trees and a few tall buildings. Seoul was a big city, but he had had to run for a while if he didn't know where he was.

He saw a bench under one of the trees, empty and inviting him to sit. 

He was still crying and his legs hurt. His chest also hurt. Everything was hurting, even his heart. He sat there, bringing his legs up to his chest and ignoring the pain that it caused. 

He was lost, alone in a place he didn't know. But he wasn't too focused on that. His mind was replaying Ten's words and the image of Jaehyun and Doyoung kissing kept appearing, mixed with his thoughts.

It didn't matter. It wasn't like anyone would miss him if he didn't go back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so maybe you could think that Jungwoo's reaction to Ten's words was a bit extreme, but I want you to think about the context we have here.
> 
> Jungwoo just fought with his best friend, who had been with him since he was a little child. Ten had been Jungwoo's only friend that was always with him, helping him and taking care of him. Jungwoo had always thought that he was a bother to Ten and that, one day, Ten would get tired of helping him and would leave him alone. 
> 
> Even if Ten is obviously denying that, Jungwoo kept thinking that what he had feared since he was a little child was happening to him, and that terrifies him.
> 
> I hope you understood that a bit better since I don't think I explained it well in the chapter :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doyoung and Jaehyun's side of the story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi :D we're almost at the end of this ;-; I thought this story would end in this chapter, but it was getting too long so I decided to devide it in two chapters :) 
> 
> I know I promised this would be better now, but I'm sure the next chapter will be the next one uwu 
> 
> I also have to thank all of you for the incredible support this story has got! You guys left a lot of kudos and comments and I'm just so happy to know that a lot of people love this story :') Thank you so much for the support. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll see you soon to put an end to this story ♡

Doyoung was getting more restless as time passed. He had been trying to finish the same activity for 20 minutes, but he just couldn't focus on doing his homework.

He was nervous. Talking to Jungwoo had been his idea and he obviously wanted to ask him about what was happening to him, but that didn't mean he wasn't a bit scared of asking the younger.

Jungwoo was a very special person to him and he wanted the best for his younger friend, but he also didn't want to make him uncomfortable. He knew Jungwoo wouldn't be happy to talk about his situation, but Doyoung was pretty sure that what he and Jaehyun thought was true, and they wanted to help Jungwoo as much as they could if that was the case.

He looked at the clock again. 4:15. He was so impatient. He wished he had asked Jaehyun and Jungwoo to hung out sooner, but Jaehyun had something to do anyways.

His phone suddenly turned on, signalling he had a new text. He quickly picked it up from where it was placed on the bed, checking up what had just arrived.

Surprisingly, it was a message from Jaehyun.

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**Hyung, I'm nervous**

**From: Doyoung**   
**To: Jae**   
**Weren't you supposed to be doing a project or something?**   
**Put down your phone and be responsible, Jung Jaehyun**

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**I've already finished it**   
**I'm responsible**   
**And fast :)**

**From: Doyoung**   
**To: Jae**   
**Okay, I'll take that**   
**I'm nervous too**   
**I know I suggested this, but I'm still a bit worried about scaring Jungwoo off or something like that**

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**Me too**   
**I really hope we can talk to him properly and solve all of this**   
**But I can't concentrate now since I'm worrying too much **

**From: Doyoung**   
**To: Jae**   
**Tell me, I've been trying to finish the same stupid equation for thirty minutes**

**From: Jae**   
**To: Doyoung**   
**Do you want to go to the park a bit earlier?**   
**Maybe we can calm down a bit before talking to him**

**From: Doyoung **   
**To: Jae**   
**Sure**   
**If you don't have anything else to do**   
**I'll be there in 10 minutes**

**From: Jae **   
**To: Doyoung**   
**Okay, see you there**

Doyoung smiled as he read the message. He was really happy to have Jaehyun with him in this. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to do all of this alone. Even if he was younger, he always managed to calm him down someway and Doyoung knew he could trust him with anything. He was amazing and that's why Doyoung liked him so much.

He shook his head, trying to get those thoughts away from him, at least for now. He had got a bit better at controlling his feelings for Jungwoo and Jaehyun, but that didn't meant that his stupid crushes on them had gone away. On the contrary, spending more time with them and trying to know what was happening to Jungwoo only made him be more aware of how beautiful and amazing both of them were, making his feelings for both grow enormously.

He got his phone, a scarf and a jacket to wear. It was getting to the end of the winter, but it was still quite cold outside and he didn't like being cold at all.

After telling his mother, he went out of his house, walking towards the park that was the nearest to his house. His house wasn't that far from it. Actually, he lived the closest to the park, so he had no reason to walk quickly since he knew he would get there before Jaehyun anyways. But he wanted to see him as soon as possible, so the earlier he got there, the better.

He arrived at the park, finding it empty at this time of the day. Usually, the park was filled with kids playing around everywhere and people walking their dogs or hanging out. However, on a Tuesday at 4:30 PM, not so many people were there.

He spotted a bench and decided to sit down while he waited for Jaehyun. If he had been nervous before, he was even more nervous now. When he sat down, he couldn't stay still, his leg bouncing continously. He bit his lip, trying not to let his mind go to the worst outcomes he could think of.

Luckily, he looked up and saw a familiar person approaching the bench where he was. Jaehyun looked nervous. Even from far away, Doyoung could tell the younger was as or even more nervous than he was. His hair looked messy, probably from running his hands through it a lot, and he was walking quickly towards Doyoung with his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"You came here really fast, didn't you?" As nervous as he was, Jaehyun could never let a chance of teasing Doyoung pass. 

"You were the one that texted me, so I'm here because of you" Doyoung said once Jaehyun had sat down beside him.

"Don't lie, I know you were nervous too" Jaehyun said, a smirk on his face.

"Shut up" Doyoung chuckled and they stayed in silence for a few seconds.

"I'm nervous because I don't want to screw this up. Jungwoo is a very important person to me, and I know he's very important for you as well" Doyoung said quietly, almost whispering.

"He is. He really is" Jaehyun answered. They stayed in silence for a moment, trying to compose themselves before speaking.

Doyoung couldn't stop thinking. He couldn't stop imagining that this was going to go really bad. That Jungwoo would deny everything they said, proving that he didn't trust them yet. Or maybe he would be freaked out because they had been thinking about this for a while. There was also the chance that all of this was just their imagination and Jungwoo was perfectly fine with his family and everything they had seen was just from his classmates but, honestly, that was the least probable from all the possibilities. There was also one that Doyoung didn't like at all, one that he didn't want to think about. Maybe Jungwoo would leave them. Maybe he would be scared of them or even angry at them. Doyoung had never been an optimistic person, but just this time, he wanted to believe that everything would be okay and they would be able to help Jungwoo with whatever problems he had.

Even if he tried to focus on that, his mind kept going to the worst scenarios possible. He couldn't stay sit for any longer. Suddenly, he got up from the bench. Jaehyun looked at him with doubt in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked, getting up as well. Doyoung started walking and Jaehyun followed him.

"I'm just... I don't know. I keep trying to be positive and think that we'll be able to help Jungwoo and talk with him, but I'm just too afraid of what can happen. What if he's scared? What if he's angry? Whst if he leaves us and never comes back? What if we can't help him? What if I can't help him? What if I'm not enough?" Doyoung said, looking down. He hadn't noticed, but a few tears had escaped his eyes.

He felt Jaehyun's hand surrounding his own and, before he even knew, the younger was in front of him, taking his other hand and pulling him closer.

"Hyung, I'm scared too. I'm afraid of what can come out of this. Ever since we thought about the possibility of Jungwoo being... abused by his parents, ever since then, I was scared. I kept thinking about a way to ask him, to get to know if this was all just in my mind or if it was true. I kept thinking about all the possibilities, all the possible cases that we could have after this moment, but I was still scared. Just how you said before, Jungwoo is a very important person in my life. He has become very important for me in a very short period of time and it honestly scares me how much I care about him, too. But, do you know what? You're also very important to me, hyung. You've been with me in this since the beginning, helping me whenever I needed it, taking care of me and just being with me in general. You make me feel safe in ways no one has ever made me, always assuring me that, if anything goes wrong or there are any problems, you'll be there with me to take care of them. I don't think you know, but you always make me happy, always managing to put a smile on my face. I know we bicker and we tease each other a lot, but I really care about you deeply. You're incredibly smart and always manage to think rationally when I'm an emotional mess. You're amazing, Kim Doyoung, and I don't think you even realize" Jaehyun said. At some point, his hands had come up to cup Doyoung's face gently, drying his tears with his thumbs and looking at him in the eyes. 

He could see the emotions passing through Doyoung's eyes as he was speaking, going from sad, to surprised, to something he couldn't recognize. He hadn't planned on confessing like this. Hell, he hadn't even thought about confessing at all, but be couldn't keep seeing Doyoung so nervous and anxious about this. He couldn't keep watching him cry, believing that he wasn't enough when he was everything Jaehyun needed.

He kept looking at Doyoung's big shiny eyes, caressing his cheeks with his thumbs. Those black eyes that he had always lovee because they looked so peaceful and caring. It was like time had stopped and nothing around them mattered. Doyoung got closer to him and Jaehyun kept his eyes open, wanting to keep the image of Doyoung like this, his eyes shiny with tears and his cheeks pink from crying, forever. They were so close that they could feel each other breaths, warm and a bit faster than normal.

"You're amazing too, Jung Jaehyun" Doyoung whispered, finally closing the distance between them.

Jaehyun was a bit surprised by the older's actions, but he quickly kissed him back, cupping his face with one of his hands, the other around his hips. Doyoung's hands were in his chest, holding him close like he didn't want to let him go.

The kiss was soft, gentle and warm. It was a sweet kiss, not too long, but longer than a simple peck. It made warmth spread inside their chests, calming them, but also making their hearts beat faster.

It ended quickly, but both Jaehyun and Doyoung were very pleased after it. They separated a bit, keeping their arms around each other and their gazes met again. No words were exchanged, only two shy smiles and a loving gaze.

Their moment ended when they heard a sharp inhale of air near them, sounding a bit like a sob. They shifted their attention to their right, where they met the eyes of the other person that was missing there.

However, the view wasn't a pleasant one. Jungwoo was standing there, with a hand covering his mouth and tears streaming down his face. He was breathing harshly and his chest was raising so quickly that it looked like it would explode at any moment.

Doyoung and Jaehyun froze, not knowing what to do in that situation. Suddenly, Jungwoo turned around and started running without looking back. Jaehyun quickly shared a glance with Doyoung. Doyoung would never forget the utter sadness and desperation that filled Jaehyun's eyes at that moment. 

Jaehyun started running towards the direction where Jungwoo had gone and Doyoung was about to follow him when he noticed something on the floor. He got down and took the object that had caught his attention, quickly realizing that it was Jungwoo's phone. He put it on his pocket and started running as well, trying to catch Jaehyun and Jungwoo.

After running for what felt like and eternity, he found Jaehyun with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Doyoung got by his side, putting a hand on his back. His physical condition wasn't as good as Jaehyun's so he wasn't in a much better situation, but he had been running way slower than him, barely being able to see him running in front of him.

"A-Are you o-okay?" He asked Jaehyun, who just looked at him with sad and worried eyes.

"I-I lost h-him. I d-don't know where h-he's gone" he said, voice thick with emotions. Suddenly, he was crying, sobbing loudly and trying to hide his face in his hands.

Doyoung quickly took his hands and brought him close, hugging him while caressing his back.

"It's okay, it's okay" He tried to comfort the younger. "You tried to follow him, but it's okay. We'll find him, don't worry" he continued saying until he felt Jaehyun calm down a bit.

Once the sobs had reduced to small sniffles, Doyoung made Jaehyun separate from him for a moment and cleaned his face.

"Hyung, w-what do we do? What if something happens to h-him? He looked so scared. We have to find him. I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to him because I wasn't able to follow him" Jaehyun said, trying not to start crying again.

"Shh, it's okay. First, we're going to calm down for a moment and then we can start looking for him around here. He can't have gone very far, okay? Nothing will happen to him, we're going to find him, alright?" Jaehyun nodded and took a deep breath.

"Hyung, I have something to tell you" Jaehyun said, making Doyoung look at his eyes.

"What is it?" He asked gently.

"I like you a lot. But I also like Jungwoo a lot. I know, I should only like one of you, but I can't choose. That kiss from before, that was so perfect, but I also wanted Jungwoo to be there with us. I know I'm being greedy and maybe you don't want to have anything to do with me after I tell you this, but I care for you a lot and I also care for Jungwoo a lot and you've become very important people for me and I couldn't just keep going without telling you this-" he was interrupted by a pair of lips. Doyoung had just kissed him again.

"Jaehyunnie, you have nothing to worry about. I've liked you for a very long time, longer than I even want to acknowledge, and it's the same for Jungwoo. I like you both, I can't choose between you two because you are just amazing in your own ways and I don't think I would be able to leave one of you behind. I-I actually had been wanting to talk about this for a while, but I'm not good with emotions. I'm also a bit coward when it comes to these things, but I really really like you a lot. I don't know what Jungwoo will think about this, but all we have to do is ask him, right?" He asked hopefully.

Jaehyun smiled with teary eyes, feeling happy that at least one of the boys he loved liked him back. He hadn't expected that outcome, and he didn't even hope that Doyoung would like him back. He was so lucky. Doyoung was even open to the option of having a relationship with Jungwoo, so if that turned out okay, he would have two beautiful and amazing boyfriends. He nodded at Doyoung, kissing him again.

"That's right. We have to ask him a lot of things. But, if he doesn't... like you or me like this, what will we do?" He asked, a bit of fear in his voice.

"We'll talk about it then. Obviously, I would love to be your boyfriend and Jungwoo's boyfriend, but if he doesn't like me that way, I'll have to accept it. All we can do is talk to him and clear everything up" Doyoung said. It hurt him, thinking about the possibility of Jungwoo not liking him or Jaehyun, but it was still there and they wouldn't force Jungwoo into anything. He was surprised that Jaehyun had feelings for him to begin with, so he hoped he had some more luck and Jungwoo liked them back as well.

"Okay. I love being like this, but we have to find Jungwoo. I'm worried about him" Jaehyun said and Doyoung nodded.

They separated after a bit, looking around the streets they were in. It was a bit far from their houses and they didn't know the area very well, but they knew how to go back to the park, so at least they weren't completely lost.

Suddenly, their phones vibrated at the same time. They looked at each other, quickly getting their phones out.

**1+1+2=10**   
**Ten: guys**   
**Ten: i need help**   
**Ten: i fucked everything up**

**Taeyong: what happened?**

**Johnny: are you okay?**

**Sicheng: where are you?**

**Ten: i'm okay**   
**Ten: but i don't know where jungwoo is**   
**Ten: i screwed everything**

**Yuta: ten, slow down**   
**Yuta: what happened to jungwoo? **

**Taeyong: tennie, you have to explain us so we can help**

**Ten: he was with me at my house and we were talking and suddenly we were fighting because i kept telling him to do something that he didn't want to**   
**Ten: we kept on yelling at each other and then he started crying and suddenly he was running out of my house**   
**Ten: i was with my cousin yukhei when that happened and he tried to calm me down because i was just so angry**   
**Ten: and when we went out to look for him we couldn't find him**   
**Ten: and now i don't know where he is or if he's okay and i'm just panicking right now **

**Taeil: okay, where are you?**

**Ten: i'm in front of our highschool**   
**Ten: xuxi and i came here to look for him but no one has seen him**

**Taeyong: stay there, i'm going right now**

**Yuta: sicheng and me are coming too**

**Taeil: i'm getting there too**

**Doyoung: guys**   
**Doyoung: we saw jungwoo**

**Ten: did you find him? Are you with him?**

**Jaehyun: no**   
**Jaehyun: he... he ran away when he saw us**

**Ten: what?**

**Taeyong: why? **

**Doyoung: it's a lot to explain right now, but we followed him and we tried to talk to him, but he ran too fast**

**Jaehyun: i don't know where he is, but we're near him now**

**Johnny: and where are you now? It would be better if all of us looked for him **

**Doyoung: i don't really know where we are**   
**Doyoung: we came here from the park that's near my house but i can send you our location so you can come**

**Yuta: okay, tell us and we'll go there**

**Kun: i'll go there directly since it's closer that our school**

Doyoung sent their location to the groupchat, finally realizing how far they had gone from the park just running behind Jungwoo. That made more sense since he really didn't remember being on that part of the city.

**Taeyong: wow, you ran there from the park? Now i can understand why you don't know those streets**

**Johnny: how did you even manage to run that much? How did jungwoo run that much? He's not that athletic**

**Jaehyun: i don't know, but i kept chasing him and i lost him at some point**

**Taeil: and have you tried to call him? Maybe if we talk to him he'll come back**

**Doyoung: he doesn't have his phone**   
**Doyoung: he had it, but when he saw us and started running he must have let it fall because i found it in the ground of the park**

**Taeil: we're almost there guys**

Doyoung and Jaehyun waited for a few minutes. After a while, they saw someone approaching them and they realized it was Kun.

"Hey guys" he said when he was finally by their side.

"Hey. You arrived quickly" Doyoung said to his best friend.

"Of course. I was really worried when Ten said he didn't know where Jungwoo was and when you told us you were here... I had to come really fast" he said. "What happened to Jungwoo anyways? Why did he run when he saw you?" He asked.

"Well... it's a long story. I'll explain when the others are here, okay?" Doyoung said and Kun nodded, not failing to see the linked hands of his two friends.

After a few more minutes, they saw a group of people that they could recognize as their friends coming towards them.

They were finally together and Taeyong ushered Ten to tell them what had happened since the beginning. Jaehyun, Doyoung and Kun noticed the tears in Ten's face. He seemed really guilty and anxious for what had happened.

"Okay, I'll tell you from the beginning" He said, taking a deep breath. "Jungwoo came to my house to have lunch today. After we ate, we started talking about something that we had talked about many times before. I have always insisted, telling him to do something because I think it's the best for him, but he always refuses and I guess today I was just tired of it and I guess Jungwoo was too. We started fighting like we've never done before. I said some things that weren't... nice at all and he said some as well. At some point, I guess I just said whatever came to my mind just to hurt him, even if it isn't the true. He had always been afraid of being left alone by the people who loves him and he always told me that, someday, I would get tired of him and leave him alone. And I said that to him, even if I don't mean it at all. I told him I didn't care about what happened to him and that was just too cruel" Ten said and he sniffled. He cleaned his face with his hands and Taeyong took his hand to comfort him.

"He suddenly ran out of my house and I just... stood there with Xuxi trying to calm me down because I was still very angry and frustrated. After a while, I calmed down and started panicking because we looked for him everywhere near our houses and we just couldn't find him. We even went to school and asked some of the teachers if they had seen him since he sometimes goes to the library when he's feeling bad, but no one had seen him since this morning" Ten finished and everyone stayed in silence for a few seconds. 

None of them had ever seen Ten and Jungwoo fighting. Sometimes they would bicker and tease each others, but that was just playing around. They had never heard of them insulting each other, so it was surprising to hear they had had such a strong fight that had made both react the way they had reacted. That helped them understand how serious the matter was.

"And what about you two? How did you see Jungwoo after that?" Yuta asked, looking at Jaehyun and Doyoung.

"I suppose we have to tell you since the beginning" Doyoung said and Jaehyun nodded.

"We were in the park because we were going to meet Jungwoo there at 5 PM. We told him we wanted to hang out for a while and take a walk on the park, those kind of things, but what we actually wanted was to talk to him and ask him a few things" Jaehyun said.

"Yeah, he mentioned that when he was at my house" Ten said.

"And what did you want to ask him?" Sicheng asked them. Jaehyun hadn't told him anything and, judging by Kun's expression, he didn't know a thing either.

"Well, we have been trying to know more about Jungwoo's... situation. I know it's not something we should do, he should be the one who tells us if something is happening to him, but we can't be the only ones who noticed the bruises that keep appearing in Jungwoo's body all the time. We all know those aren't just from the kids in his class" Doyoung said and all of them looked back at him with a knowing gaze.

"We had been thinking for some time, and we reached to the conclussion that maybe someone was treating him bad at his house. Obviously, we don't know for sure and that's why we wanted to ask him. At first, we wanted to let him come to us and talk when he was ready, but when he saw how hurt he was today, we just... couldn't wait" Jaehyun said. 

Ten and Yukhei shared a glance. They knew. Maybe they weren't entirely sure, but they knew about what was happening. It was relieving to know that, even if they weren't completely aware of what was happening, they decided to keep on trying to help Jungwoo instead of leaving him.

"Ten, is that true? Is there someone treating him bad at his house? I think all of us have been suspecting about it for a while" Taeyong asked and everyone looked at Ten, who sighed and looked away.

"I'm not the person who you should be asking. It's not my place to tell you" he said, but all of them understood right away that what they had hoped was just something from their imagination was true.

"Fuck..." Johnny muttered as everyone let that sink in. It was something that none of them wanted to believe, something that they wished wasn'r true, but sadly, reality wasn't that easy. Everyone looked sad, frustrated and also angry. How could their family be treating Jungwoo bad when they were supposed to protect him? He definetely didn't deserve that.

Doyoung felt Jaehyun's hand squish his own. He looked at the younger and saw all the anger in his eyes, but also all the sadness of not being able to help Jungwoo before. Doyoung took a deep breath, trying not to let his emotions control him. They had to find Jungwoo and make sure he was okay. He brought Jaehyun closer to him, trying to comfort him in some way, as he squished his hand.

"Okay, alright. Let's focus" Taeyong said, gathering everyone's attention. "That's a talk we can leave for later. Now we have to find Jungwoo and bring him back. Jaehyun, Doyoung, continue with what you were telling us" he said.

Doyoung knew that Jaehyun wasn't ready to keep talking, so he decided to go on.

"So, we told him to come to the park at 5 PM, but we were so nervous that we ended up going there a bit earlier to try to calm down. We started talking and at some point, Jaehyun ended up confessing to me and we kissed" Doyoung said. "Don't say anything, let me finish" he said when he saw everyone open their mouth to talk. He was a bit flustered by all of this, so he wanted to at least finish the story.

"Anyways, he saw us kissing and when we looked back at him, he started running. He was crying when we saw him and we followed him. Jaehyun followed him right away, but I stopped because I saw his phone on the ground. When I found Jaehyun, Jungwoo was nowhere to be seen" Doyoung said.

"I don't know where he went and when I turned the corner, I couldn't see him anymore" Jaehyun said.

"Okay, first of all, it took you guys long enough to finally get together. I thought we would have to lock you in the same room or something like that" Johnny said. 

"Johnny Seo, be careful with what you say" Jaehyun said and Johnny immediately shut his mouth. The taller boy had told him a few weeks before about his crush on Taeil, so he had to be careful.

"But they're not together yet" Kun said, gathering everyone's attention.

"Yeah, they still have to tell Jungwoo" Sicheng said, smiling playfully at the face that Jaehyun and Doyoung made.

"Ah, that's right. You better talk to him when we find him" Taeyong said and the rest of them just nodded.

"Wait, do you guys believe that we have feelings for Jungwoo?" Doyoung asked. 

"We just assumed it. I mean, you guys look at him like he's the most precious thing on the world besides each other" Yuta shrugged.

"Was it that obvious?" Jaehyun asked, a bit impressed on how quick their friends had known about their feelings.

"Jaehyunnie, I think half of the school believes you three have been together since at least a month ago" Taeyong smiled.

"I think all of us knew before you" Taeil chuckled, making Doyoung and Jaehyun blush.

"Let's focus!" Doyoung said and everyone got back to being serious. "We should separate and look for him in different directions" he suggested.

"Okay. I think we can go in pairs, that way we can find him sooner" Taeyong said and all of them agreed.

Yuta went with Sicheng, Johnny with Taeil, Taeyong with Ten, Doyoung with Jaehyun and Kun was left with Yukhei.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me? You don't really know Kun" Ten askes Yukhei quietly while the others discussed which direction each of them should go.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Besides, you told me I should meet your friends soon, right?" Yukhei asked. He was a bit nervous of going with someone he didn't really know. He had talked a bit with the others on their way there, but the only one he hadn't talked to was Kun. He never had problems with making friends, so this should go okay. Besides, he could see that Ten needed Taeyong by his side at that moment. When Ten had seen Taeyong before, he had been able to calm down the shorter just with a hug.

"Okay, everyone let's get going. If you have any problems or if you find Jungwoo, use the groupchat" Taeyong said and everyone nodded.

"Hey, Yukhei? We have to go this way" Yukhei felt a tentive touch in his shoulder. He turned around and stopped, looking at what he thought was the cutest boy he had ever seen. He stayed there with his mouth open, trying to say something.

"Xuxi, let's go. You'll have time to fall in love with Kun later" Yuta said as he walked away with Sicheng.

"I-I... yeah, let's go" He said to Kun, who smiled shyly at him.

And with that, all of them walked in different directions, hoping to find Jungwoo safe and sound.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, things are starting to fit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :') it's finally here, LAST chapter of this work ;-; I never thought I would end up finishing this, since I was very busy this last year, but here we are :'D
> 
> First of all, I have to thank you guys so much♡ Your support is what made me keep on writing this story and I don't think I would have finished this if it weren't for your amazing comments and all the kudos you've given me for this story :'D Like, really, thank you guys a lot♡♡♡♡
> 
> Now, will this have some sort of continuation? I'm pretty sure it will. Maybe it won't be a story as long as this one, but I'm sure I'll write some oneshots based on this au because I love this ship so much :') I'm also thinking about writing about the other pairs in this au (like taeten, yuwin, etc...) since almost none of them got closure in this. Tbh, I have a lot of ideas for this au, and there is still a lot more to say about this story, so I'm pretty sure I'll keep writing things for this, since I love it a lot and many people enjoy it as well.
> 
> I'm also thinking about writing a short epilogue for this, but I'm not so sure on that ^^U
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope I lived up to the expectations with this ending, even if some people may think it's kinda meh xD 
> 
> Also, don't forget to support our boys with Punch! I loved the song and Make your day and Nonstop are amazing as well! Stream and vote if you can and take care of yourselves :D Love you♡

Everyone was getting more anxious as time passed. They had been looking for Jungwoo for hours, but no one had managed to find him.

They started looking for him at around 5:30 PM, and it was now almost 8 PM and they were still looking for him. Jaehyun and Doyoung had been the last ones to see him and, judging by how long they had been running after Jungwoo, they thought the younger would be close to where they had stopped. However, they had understimated how much Jungwoo could run, even more when he was in panic and trying to hide from them.

**1+1+2=10**   
**Taeyong: has anyone seen him yet?**

**Yuta: No**

**Taeil: we're still trying to find him**

**Kun: same here**

**Doyoung: let's keep trying. He can't have gone that far**

Doyoung sighed and looked around him. They had been walking for hours, trying to find Jungwoo and make sure he was okay, but the younger was nowhere to be seen. Jaehyun was by his side, with his hand wrapped around his own, and walking with as much determination as before.

"No one has seen him yet, right?" He asked when he saw Doyoung putting his phone away.

"No. We have to keep looking" Doyoung answered. 

Jaehyun was very determined to find Jungwoo and Doyoung knew he felt really guilty for not being able to catch the younger before, but he was also getting more and more desperate as minutes passed and no one found anything. He looked tense, and Doyoung could sense how much he was thinking about the situation, probably blaming himself for everything.

"Jaehyunnie" Doyoung stopped walking, making Jaehyun turn to look at him, tension visible in his face.

"Hyung, we don't have time. It's getting late and it's night already. We have to find him soon-" He was interrupted as Doyoung took his face in his hands.

"Hey, calm down. I know you're stressed, I am too, just like everyone else, but try to calm down for a moment, okay? I know you're feeling guilty and let me tell you that it isn't your fault, it's no one's fault, alright?" Doyoung said and Jaehyun took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay. Thanks, hyung. I needed that" Jaehyun said, looking a bit more relaxed than before.

"That's better. I hate seeing you so tense" Doyoung said, smiling at Jaehyun, who smiled back.

They kept walking around. They had arrived at an area that was mostly empty of people. It looked like a very calm zone, very different from the more overcrowded and busy areas of Seoul. It was already night, the sun had hidden a few hours ago, and it was also getting colder as time passed. Winter was almost over, but that didn't change that it was still cold at night.

They arrived at a street with tall buildings, where people lived in, and surrounded by trees and some other plants and flowers. Everything was normal until Doyoung saw someone, someone he knew really well and had been loking for. 

Doyoung squeezed Jaehyun's hand, making him look at the older instantly. He looked at where Doyoung was looking, immediately recognizing the firgure that was curled up in a bench. 

They walked towards him quickly, relief filling them when they were sure that it was Jungwoo who was there. But that relief didn't last for long when they saw the younger's estate.

* * *

Jungwoo had lost track of time. He didn't know how much time had passed since he stopped running. Had it been a few minutes? Had it been hours? He didn't know. Everything was so confusing and blurry.

He was still shaking, crying and trying to take a deep breath that would truly give some air to his lungs. Everything hurt from running so much, everything ached from the injuries and bruises he had all over his body. He was so tense, so anxious, that it hurt his muscles that were already in pain because of all the running from before. 

He couldn't remember why he was in that situation. He remembered running away from Jaehyun and Doyoung, but nothing else. What was happening to him? Why was he forgetting everything? He didn't know and that only scared him even more.

He felt as if he was floating, not going anywhere but also not knowing where he was, and he wished he could ground himself somehow. The only thing he was conscious about was how much he was hurting.

Suddenly, he felt something touching him, in his back, making him jump in surprise. He tried to look at what had just touched him, but his eyes were blurry because of the tears and he didn't have the strength to clean them. 

He felt something touch him again, this time, more carefully and gently. His tears were cleaned and his vision finally focused enough to let him see what was touching him. It was Doyoung, sweet and caring Doyoung, who was cleaning his face and trying to say something to him. He couldn't hear him, he could only hear how fast his heart was beating and his ears were ringing so loud that he couldn't focus on anything else.

He looked to his side, where felt another touch, and saw Jaehyun, looking at him with worried eyes, also saying something he couldn't hear.

Jungwoo was getting more and more scared as they kept saying things but he just couldn't hear anything. Suddenly, memories from before came to him. The park, the tears, their kiss. He wanted to run again. They had seen him before, when they were kissing. They were probably angry at him, since all he did was bother them.

He tried to move, to run again, but their hands were keeping him in place, and he had no strength left to move anymore. 

Doyoung took his face in his hands, making him look at him. He cleaned his tears with his thumbs, softly drawing patterns in his cheeks, grounding him a bit. Jaehyun had also started rubbing circles in his back, coaxing him to relax his body.

Jungwoo focused on their touch, trying to ignore for a moment all the negative thoughts in his mind. He looked at Doyoung again, who nodded when he noticed how Jungwoo was breathing more evenly than before.

"-ing so well, Jungwoo" he was finally able to hear what they were saying and that also helped him to calm down.

They spent some minutes like that and, finally, Jungwoo was fully aware of his surroundings. He looked around, noticing how dark it was. He had been there for so long that it was already night?

"Jungwoo, baby, are you with us?" Doyoung asked when he saw the shift in Jungwoo's eyes, making him focus on him again.

"Y-Yes" he tried to answer, but his voice was so weak from crying for so long that it was barely a whisper.

"Oh, Jungwoo" Jaehyun said, enveloping him with his arms from behind. They had been so scared when they had found him.

Doyoung and Jaehyun had approached him, calling his name, but they received no answer. When they were by his side, they realized how bad Jungwoo's condition was. The younger had his face in his knees, his arms around his legs. He was so tense and he was still crying. They started panicking when they noticed how fast and uneven his breaths were and they became even more scared when Jungwoo wouldn't react to anything they said. They had been calling his name for a few minutes, not wanting to touch him to scare him even more, but he just didn't react at all. 

"H-Hyung" he said, relaxing a bit in Jaehyun's arms but also shaking like a leaf. 

"You're freezing" Jaehyun said, separating from the younger. That made the younger let out a panicked sob. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, I'm just taking off my jacket to warm you up" He said, calming him down for a moment. He took off his jacket and enveloped Jungwoo with it.

Only then did Jungwoo notice how cold he felt. He was shivering, not only from crying, but also for sitting in the cold for so long only wearing a thin hoodie. He was thankful for the warmth that Jaehyun's jacket provided.

"Come here" Doyoung said, putting his scarf around Jungwoo's neck and hugging him close, letting out a sigh of relief after having the younger in his arms. They had found him. Maybe he wasn't as okay as they had hoped, but they could help with that.

Jungwoo was feeling a lot better than before. His body had finally stopped shaking, as he was calming down in Doyoung's arms and was feeling warmer thanks to their clothes. He could breathe normally again and his lungs weren't feeling as if they would explode anymore. He felt even more at ease when Jaehyun hugged him again from behind, making him feel safe between the two older boys.

They were all so comfortable that they would stay there for hours if they could, but was getting late and they were also noticing how cold it was getting as well, so they finally separated.

"We have to get you home to warm you up, Jungwoo" Doyoung said and he could see how panic filled Jungwoo's eyes instantly.

"No, please. Not home, not home" He started saying, panic and pure terror filling his eyes. Jaehyun and Doyoung panicked again, seeing how distressed Jungwoo had become just by mentioning his house.

"No, no, shh, baby. It's okay, we're going to my house, there's nothing to fear" Jaehyun said, trying to calm the younger boy down again by brushing his hair out of his eyes. Jungwoo took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down again after hearing Jaehyun's words.

"Please, I don't want to go to my house. That's not home. I hate being there" Jungwoo said with tears still streaming down his face, now slumped against Doyoung, tired after crying.

"It's alright. We won't go there if you don't want to. We'll go to Jaehyunnie's house. You have to get warm and we have to check if you got hurt anywhere" Doyoung said, running his hand through Jungwoo's hair.

"Can you walk, baby?" Jaehyun asked. He could see how exhausted Jungwoo was, so he wanted to get them to somewhere warmer and calmer as soon as possible.

"I-I don't know. Everything hurts so much and I'm s-so tired" he answered, looking down. After running so much, he was sure he wasn't able to walk or move with how badly his body ached.

"That's okay, don't worry. I'll carry you and you can rest a bit, okay?" Jaehyun said. 

Jungwoo nodded, relaxing for a moment against Doyoung. The older boy kept running his hand through his hair. He felt a pair of lips agains his forehead, surprising him. Jungwoo looked up at him, a confused glint in his eyes.

"What? You told us you liked kisses" The older smiled, making Jungwoo smile as well. For Jaehyun and Doyoung, that little smile was the best they had seen since they had found the younger again.

"Let's get going. We're quite far from home and we have to tell the others that we found you. You ran a lot, didn't you?" Jaehyun said.

"The others?" Jungwoo asked.

"Yeah, Taeyong-hyung, Ten-hyung, Yuta-hyung, Kun-hyung... all of them helped us looking for you. We were so worried, Jungwoo. You have no idea how scared we were when Ten-hyung told us you two had fought and then we saw you running away from us" Jaehyun said and Jungwoo just looked down. He knew he had been a coward, but he didn't want to cause them any more troubles.

"I'm sorry. They must be angry about this whole situation" He said.

"What are you saying? They will be very relieved that we found you safe and sound" Doyoung said after texting them, telling them to go to where they had encountered before to go back to their houses.

"But I bothered all of you and Ten must still be angry from before. And how come you came looking for me? I saw you kissing i-in the park. Why were you interested in finding me anyways?" He asked. Everything had come back to him after trying to ignore it for a while.

"First of all, it wasn't a bother looking for you. We were very worried and all we want is that you're safe. We are your friends, and even if there are some fights, we all care about you. Ten isn't angry at all. When we saw him after he told us what happened, he looked very guilty and he was really worried, too. You may have fought with him, but he's still your best friend, Jungwoo, and you are so important to him. As for us, yes, we were kissing, but that doesn't mean we don't care about you any less. You're so important for us, Jungwoo, you can't even imagine" Doyoung said, trying to make Jungwoo understand how loved he was, how much they loved him.

"B-But I don't understand..." he tried to say.

"Jungwoo, Doyoung-hyung and I like you, a lot. You've become such an important part of our lives and the fact that I like him and he likes me doesn't change that at all. You're such a special person for us. You bring us light everyday, making us smile and feel happy just by being around you. Ever since we met you, you've made us a lot happier than we had ever been" Jaehyun said.

Jungwoo blinked slowly, trying to comprehend everything.

"It's true, Jungwoo. You're so precious to us. When we saw how those kids treated you at school, we couldn't let that continue. We can't stand seeing you hurt, seeing you sad and even less seeing you panicking. We love seeing you laugh and cheering everyone up with your jokes. You're also the cutest person alive and seeing you smile is the best thing ever. I don't think you're aware of just how important you are to us and how happy we are of having you here, with us. Jaehyun and I like each other, that's true, but that doesn't mean we don't like you as well" Doyoung said, taking Jungwoo's hand in his.

"B-But if you're already together, where do I-I fit? I'm n-not..." he said as Jaehyun took his other hand.

"You fit perfectly, Woo. When I confessed to Doyoung earlier, I told him how much I liked him and how much I would like to start a relationship with him, but I also told him that the feelings I had for him were as strong as the feelings I have for you. It took me a while to comprehend what those feelings were. For me, love was a thing that people only saw in films or books, not in real life, and I didn't know what to do with the warmth that spread in my chest whenever I saw one of you smile at me, hug me, be with me. But then I understood that it was love. It had been there for a while, and I was so scared of it at the beggining, since I thought that none of you would feel the same. But today, I just couldn't hide it anymore. I saw both of you so sad and worried today and when you're hurt, I'm hurt too. All I want to do is make you smile and be happy, because then, I'm happy too. When Doyoung-hyung said   
that he liked me back, I swear I was the happiest I've been in my life, but when he told me he also liked you, that happiness grew even more. We talked about it, and we came to the conlussion that we wanted to be together, but not just us, you too" Jaehyun explained. He was getting so emotional saying those things he had hidden inside him for so long that his eyes were getting blurry.

"It just didn't feel right to try just with   
the two of us. You fit in perfectly, as you've always done, and I don't think Jaehyun or I would have this any other way. It was surprising for me when Jaehyun told me how he felt, since I never imagined someone as wonderful as him feeling the same way as I did. When we saw you today, running and crying after what happened in the park, I think we've never been more worried before. I don't know how you feel, Jungwoo, but, if you want to, we would love having you with us in this. You're just as important and special to me as Jaehyun is, and we don't feel complete without you. You're the missing piece to this puzzle we have, so don't ever doubt how loved you are by us or if you fit in with us" Doyoung said, smiling at the younger.

Jungwoo stood there, in silence, trying to process everything. Did the two boys he loved so much just confess to him, saying they wanted to start a relationship with him if he wanted to? Did they really feel the same way he did about them? He could cry from happiness and, before he even noticed, he had done so.

"Don't cry, Jungwoo, don't cry" Doyoung said, panic in his face when Jungwoo started crying again. 

"It's okay if you don't feel the same, we won't resent you for that. We decided to tell you this and accept whatever the outcome was, but please, don't cry, don't be sad" Jaehyun said, hugging him again.

"I-I'm not s-sad. I'm just... Are you sure you like me? Why would you like someone like me? I'm ugly, annoying and I'm an anxious mess all the time. I have m-many problems and you two are amazing for e-each other" Jungwoo said and Jaehyun and Doyoung felt their heart ache at Jungwoo's words.

"Jungwoo, of course we like you. You're a wonderful person. You care a lot about your friends, you're always making sure everyone is happy and if someone has a problem, you always try to help. You're gentle and kind, always nice to everyone even if they are assholes and treat you bad" Jaehyun started saying.

"You're also really affectionate and you never hesitate to show how much you love someone with hugs and beautiful words. You always try not to worry us even if all we want to do is take care of you. You're also so, so strong. You endure everything with a smile on your face even if everything is a mess. You were also so shy when we met you, but when we got to know you, we saw just how precious and amazing you are" Doyoung said.

"You shouldn't say things like that, since you are amazing in every aspect. You're responsible, always working hard and giving your best in everything you try" Jaehyun continued, seeing how Jungwoo was looking between him and Doyoung.

"And you're also so, so beautiful. Whenever you do anything, you always look cute. Do you remember when we spent the night at Jaehyun's house? When you were wearing those clothes from Jaehyun, I swear I could have exploded that day. Don't ever think you're ugly, because you're not" Doyoung said, putting a strand of hair behind Jungwoo's ear.

The younger was there without knowing what to say. He was feeling so many different emotions at the same time. He was quite overwhelmed, but one thing was clear for him. He loved the two boys that were in front of him, hugging and comforting him.

"I-I'm..." He tried to say. Jaehyun and Doyoung waited patiently for a response, not wanting to rush the younger. "I-I love you so much" Jungwoo said, smiling and crying from happiness. 

Jaehyun and Doyoung looked at each other, smiling so brightly that their cheeks hurt. They hugged each other, with Jungwoo bertween them. The two of them kissed his head at the same time, making Jungwoo giggle.

"I know we may be going a bit too fast, but does that mean you want to be our boyfriend? It's okay if you want some time to think about it" Jaehyun asked happily. Of course, he would love to be able to call both Doyoung and Jungwoo his boyfriends, but they had to decided for themselves.

"Why would I need time to think about this? I love you both so much and this is something I always thought would be in my imagination. Of course I would love being your boyfriend" He said. His eyes sparkled so much when he looked at them again and his face was adorned with a cute smile. Jaehyun and Doyoung smiled back at him. They couldn't contain how happy they were.

"Then, does that mean I can kiss you?" Jaehyun asked, always the most brave out of them. 

Jungwoo nodded, swallowing after looking at Jaehyun's lips. They got closer, lips almost touching. Jaehyun looked at his eyes again, as if asking for permission, and when Jungwoo nodded, he closed the distance between them. This kiss was as amazing as the one Jaehyun had before with Doyoung. It was filled with the same love and care, but it was a bit different. Jungwoo's kiss were as soft and gentle as him. The younger's lips moved slowly against his own, shyly letting Jaehyun lead the kiss without much resistance. They separated after a moment, his faces still close. Before getting away completely, Jaehyun pecked his lips again quickly, making Jungwoo blush even more.

"Wow, that was a fantastic view" Doyoung said. He never imagined feeling so happy for seeing Jungwoo and Jaehyun kissing. That made the other two laugh.

"Don't worry, hyung, it's your turn now" Jungwoo said, getting closer to the older. 

Jungwoo felt his lips touch Doyoung's, still not believing that this was happening. Doyoung's kiss was as amazing as Jaehyun's. Where Jaehyun was a bit more urgent and dominant, Doyoung was caring and gentle, still leading the kiss but with more softness. They separated, breathing faster as their kiss had lasted a bit longer.

"That was... amazing" Jungwoo said, making the older boys smile tenderly at him. 

Doyoung and Jaehyun also kissed, more calmly than the first time they did. Jungwoo watched and, this time, he didn't feel any sadness because of it. He belonged there, they wanted him there, with them, and nothing would change that.

They stayed there for a bit longer, just enjoying each other's presence after such a long day. Jaehyun and Doyoung felt Jungwoo shiver again between them, signalling it was time to go to Jaehyun's house.

"Let's get going. The others are probably waiting for us" Doyoung said, standing up from the bench. It was almost 10 PM and they still had to go back to their houses.

Jaehyun stood up as well, picking up Jungwoo easily. The younger wrapped his arms and legs around Jaehyun, resting his head on his shoulder and closing his eyes. Just then he finally realized how tired he was after everything that had happened that day. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling Jaehyun caress his back gently. 

"You should rest, baby. We're pretty far from home and you look exhausted" Doyoung said to Jungwoo, who just hummed.

"I have to tell you something" Jungwoo said. He had decided that it was time to let them know about it. They had told him everything, and he felt safe with them, so he had to tell them about it.

"Okay. But it will be better if you tell us when we're at Jae's house. It's getting late" Doyoung said and Jungwoo nodded.

They started walking, feeling happier and calmer than they've felt in the entire day. The day hadn't started how they had expected, and it also hadn't ended as it usually did. It was perfect, though, and they wouldn't have had it any other way.

* * *

At some point, Jungwoo had fallen asleep and Jaehyun and Doyoung continued walking in silence, happy with staying with each other. 

They arrived at the place where they had encountered with the rest of the boys before, seeing everyone there waiting for them.

When they saw them approaching, they all walked towards them, talking at the same time and asking a lot of questions. Doyoung, being the responsible one, explained everything to them while the walked to their houses, from when they had found Jungwoo until the end. 

When he finished talking, everyone congratulated them for confessing and finally being brave enough to talk about their emotions. The rest of them had seen those three practically falling in love ever since they met, and it was quite frustrating to see how much they liked each other, but also how much it took for them to finally confess.

While everyone was walking ahead, talking with Doyoung and asking him more questions, Ten was walking behind, with Jaehyun, who had decided to stay a bit far from the loud mess that were their friends to let Jungwoo sleep. Ten had been walking with him in silence, as if making sure Jungwoo was okay enough.

"He was so worried and guilty when we told him that all of you were looking for him. He thought you were still angry with him" Jaehyun said quietly, feeling the warm breaths of Jungwoo in his neck.

"How could I be angry with him? He's one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I was so guilty when I screamed at him before. I just... want the best for him" Ten said, equally as quietly.

"I know. And he knows, too. He's just very stubborn" Jaehyun said, a small smile decorating his face.

"Too stubborn, I would say. But I can't blame him. He's been through a lot" Ten said. He was quiet for a few seconds before talking again. "Jaehyun-ah, take care of him. I know Doyoung and you have been doing it for a long time, but please, take care of him. He doesn't deserve what's happening to him and he has been really sad for a very long time. When he met you two, and when he fell in love with you two, he became a lot happier and brighter. He's very important to me, and I know he's also very important for you, so all I can ask is that you treat him as well as you can. There are enough people treating him bad in his life already" Ten said.

Jaehyun took his words to his heart, promising to take care of the boy in his arms and make him happy. He knew a part of Jungwoo's misery but, judging by Ten's words, there was a lot more. And, just like Ten said, Jungwoo didn't deserve any of it. He was too good for what was happening to him.

"We will, Ten-hyung. He and Doyoung are precious to me, and I will make sure to make them happy and safe for as long as I can" Jaehyun said.

"I know you will. But, as his best friend, I also have to tell you that I will personally kill you if you ever hurt him. Make him cry from other thing than happiness and you'll wish you hadn't even thought about it, understood?" Ten said, this time with a playful tone.

"Knowing you, I'm sure that's a possibility, so don't worry, I won't hurt him. I'm not able to do so" Jaehyun said, smiling back at Ten.

"Good. Oh god, this is the first time I'm giving "the talk" to my best friend's boyfriends. He's all grown up" Ten said, changing the atmosphere surrounding them.

"You still have to talk to Doyoung, though" Jaehyun chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to him. He can't keep going without knowing the consequences of hurting Woo. Let him enjoy for now" Ten said, making Jaehyun laugh again.

He was happy that Jungwoo had someone like Ten in his life. He knew how important they were for each other, how they had been there when no one else was, and he knew that their relationship won't ever change.

* * *

They arrived at Jaehyun's house after separating from everyone else. They had wanted to stay with them as well, but Ten and Taeyong managed to convince them to go back to their houses since their families were already worried that they were out so late.

Jaehyun and Doyoung said goodbye to Ten, who was a bit hesitant to leave without Jungwoo since he was used to taking care of him. He went to his house only after Doyoung and Jaehyun promised to make sure Jungwoo was okay and call him if anything happened.

When they entered, they noticed that they were alone, no trace of Jaehyun's mother anywhere. Jaehyun passed Jungwoo to Doyoung, who carefully carried him trying not to wake him up.

"Mom?" Jaehyun asked, walking around the house to see if his mother was there. When he arrived at the kitchen, he saw a note sticked to the refrigerator that hadn't been there before.

"Hyunnie, my boss called me and he told me I have to go to Manila urgently, so I had to leave before you got back. I've left you some food prepared for the next few days. I think I'll be back by the end of the week, but if I'm not, you'll have to go to pick up Nana on Friday. I'm sorry I had to leave like this, please be careful and take care. With love, mom"

Jaehyun sighed, a bit disappointed that his mother had to leave again in such short notice. He had grown used to his mother's job and, as time passed, he became less surprised when things like this happened, but it was still a little sad not seeing her as much as he would like, especially when Jaemin wasn't around. Well, at least he knew where his mother was. It made things a bit easier for them as well, since it would be a bit complicated to explain everything to his mother, who still didn't know anything about Jaehyun's sexual orientation or boyfriends.

He went back to the living room where he had left Jungwoo and Doyoung, almost tripping because of Sunhee. When he arrived, he smiled at the view he found. Doyoung, who had been carrying Jungwoo, was sitting in the couch with the younger in his lap. Jungwoo was still asleep, with his head hidden in Doyoung's neck and his hands clutching the elder's shirt. Doyoung was running a hand through Jungwoo's hair, brushing it back and planting a kiss on the younger's forehead. Jaehyun approached them, quietly so Doyoung didn't notice him, and when he was right behind Doyoung, he wrapped his arms around the two. Doyoung jumped, surprised for a second, but immediately relaxed again. Jaehyun kissed Doyoung's head, watching as Jungwoo was still sleeping peacefully.

"I'm assuming you're staying over, right?" Jaehyun asked, caressing Doyoung's sides.

"Yeah, I texted my mother earlier. I'm sorry I didn't ask, but I don't think I can leave Jungwoo's side just yet after everything" Doyoung answered.

"Don't worry. I told you, you're welcome here anytime" Jaehyun smiled. "We should change into more comfortable clothes and warm him up. He still looks cold" Jaehyun said, noticing his slightly red nose.

"Yeah. We should also eat something, too. I'm tired but it's not good to go to sleep without eating anything before. We have to wake him up, though" He said, pouting.

"Yeah, I know it's a pity, but we have to. I would love to let him sleep, he looks exhausted, but he'll feel a lot better tomorrow after a warm bath and some food" Jaehyun said, going around the couch and sitting beside Doyoung.

Doyoung carefully shook the younger's shoulder, trying to wake Jungwoo up. It took a few tries, but finally, the younger stirred in his arms. He began to stretch, but soon he winced in pain. He rubbed his eyes, not completely aware of where he was yet.

"Where?..." he asked, still a bit out of it.

"At my house" Jaehyun answered, smiling fondly at the younger.

"Oh... I didn't dream all of that, right? We're still boyfriends, right?" Jungwoo asked. 

For Jaehyun and Doyoung, it was adorable. They chuckled a bit, endeared by Junwoo's innocence and cuteness.

"Of course it wasn't a dream, silly. We're boyfriends and we'll be staying here tonight. We're not letting you go just yet" Jaehyun said and Jungwoo smiled, happy for not having to go back to his house so soon and spend more time with his now boyfriends.

"Okay, we have to shower and we also have to eat something before going to bed. What do you want to do first?" Doyoung asked.

"I don't mind. I'm a bit hungry, but if you want to shower, we could eat later" Jaehyun said.

"I'm hungry, too" Jungwoo said.

"Then, let's have some dinner and then we can take a shower" Doyoung said and the other two nodded. "Okay, now that that's decided, what should we eat?" He asked again.

"My mother left some food prepared because she had to go urgently to Manila, so we don't have to cook if you don't want to" Jaehyun said.

In the end, they decided to eat what Jaehyun's mother had made since they were quite tired. Jaehyun and Jungwoo were slightly disappointed, since Doyoung's cooking skills were amazing and whenever he prepared some food, it was amazing. However, the food prepared by Jaehyun's mother was also great and Jungwoo again thought to himself how it would be if his mother prepared food for him like that.

They ate the food in silence, basking in the calm atmosphere that was present in the house. Sunhee had joined them as well, eating some food that Jaehyun had given her.

After eating, they decided to leave all the work of washing the dishes for the next day, since it was almost 11 PM and they still had to get ready for bed. There was no way they were going to go to school the following day. They were physically and mentally worn out because of the eventful day, so they had time to get plenty of sleep the next day.

As they had done before, Jaehyun decided to lend them some clothes to change into to sleep, internally blushing because he got to see them again wearing his clothes and they looked really adorable with them.

When they were about to decide who should shower first, Jungwoo decided that it was the best moment to tell them about his family. He had thought of waiting until they were ready to go to bed, but he knew that if he kept on delaying it, his courage would vanish. There was also the possibility that he would be too tired to talk after showering, since he was already sleepy and the only thing he wanted was to cuddle between his two boyfriends (he still couldn't believe that) and sleep for hours.

"Hyungs?" He asked, immediately gainning their attention. With their eyes on him, he started feeling more nervous about it. How would they react? Would they leave him after knowing? Should he have told them before they confessed? Maybe they wouldn't want to be with him anymore because of this. 

'_No, Jungwoo, you decided to tell them and you are going to tell them. Be brave for once in your life' _he told to himself.

"What is it, Woo?" Jaehyun asked, curious about the sudden action of Jungwoo.

"You remember I told you I had to talk to you about something, right?" Jungwoo said, his eyes looking down.

"Yeah. Do you want to talk about it now?" Doyoung asked. He had been thinking about it since Jungwoo said it to them, but he didn't want to force the younger to talk if he wasn't ready yet.

"I... I think so. I know that if I keep postponing this, I won't say anything until I gain the courage again" he said, still looking down.

Jaehyun, sensing the younger's nervousness, decided to calm him down.

"Why don't we go to my bedroom? We can sit there and talk more calmly" He said and Jungwoo nodded, following Jaehyun and Doyoung to the bedroom.

Once they were there, they sat down on the bed, Jungwoo on one end, and Jaehyun and Doyoung in front of him. Jungwoo took a deep breath, trying his best to calm down his shaky hands.

"Hey, it's okay. You can tell us anything" Doyoung smiled, taking the younger's hand. Jaehyun did the same, not liking how nervous Jungwoo was again after   
the day they had had.

"I don't really know how to start..." Jungwoo said, trying to order all his thoughts to tell them properly.

"Let me help. Is it something related to school?" Jaehyun asked.

"No, it's related to my... relationship with my parents, if you could say so" Jungwoo said, internally thanking Jaehyun for helping him.

Jaehyun and Doyoung suspected what was about to come. They were finally about to know the answers for those questions that they had had for a long time. They braced themselves, guessing this wasn't going to be fun to hear.

"My parents... they don't treat me like most parents treat their children. They are usually bad to me, like really bad" Jungwoo said.

"When you say bad, you aren't just talking about being harsh or strict with you, right?" Jaehyun asked. He already knew the answer to that, but he still had hope that it wasn't true for some reason.

"No, it's not only something emotional, but also physical. Ever since I was really young, like 5 or 6 years old, they've been treating me like this. They insult me, curse at me. They also beat me up constantly. Most of the time, I don't even know why, other times it's because I've misbehaved, but they always... enjoy hurting me. 

"All the bruises you've seen on me... most of them are because of my parents. Until now, the only ones who knew about how my parents treat me have been Ten and Yukhei. Since Yukhei left, Ten has been the only one helping me with them. More than once, I've had to call him in the middle of the day or the night because my parents had hurt me so much I couldn't even m-move, or maybe because I hadn't e-eaten anything in a few days because I can't l-leave my room without fearing finding them and getting h-hurt again. 

"And I'm just s-so tired about it. I'm so t-tired of not feeling safe in my own house, not being able to go out with my friends without having to think of getting home before my parents are back. And that only worsened the bullying I was suffering from school, too. 

"Since my parents didn't care about me at all, they didn't buy me basic things like clothes or things for school like backpacks or books. I mean, they don't care if I starve to death one day, why would t-they care about that? The kids in my class started to pick up on me since I was really young because they thought I was ugly, too femenine for a boy, or because they found me annoying, the usual things people say to hurt you. As I grew up, they also started bothering me because of my appearance, my clothes, my things. 

"It was hard to grow up like that, always having someone treating me like a piece of trash, not mattering if it was at school or at my own home, but I got used to it. As years passed, the bullying got worse but I was able to ignore the rude comments more easily. It also started to get physical and I've never been strong in that sense, so I would always get hurt even if I tried to defend myself. As for my situation at my house, it's a lot harder to ignore. I bumped into my parents more often and they seem to enjoy seeing me suffering or in pain, so they started to try to find me with the purpose of hurting me. 

"T-the other day, when I called Doyoung-hyung in the middle of the night, it was because the night before, my father had managed to enter my room, where I'm usually safe because I keep the door locked. W-When he entered, he started kicking and punching me. At first, I thought it would be the same as always, a few minutes of torture and then it would be over. B-But that day, they decided to take turns to hurt me and they didn't stop. They started on Saturday night, and when they finally stopped, it was Sunday night. I thought I would die that day, but luckily, Ten came and helped me. 

"I-I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time, but I always feared you would leave me because that's just so troublesome. Most people decide to ignore things like this, but I thought you would be different. When I met you and you helped me with all the bullying, I started to think you guys wouldn't just ignore the situation or turn your back to avoid the problems it could cause you. I started trusting you since you helped me when I had that panic attack at school, but something held me back from telling you about this. Ten had also been trying to make me tell you for a while. In fact, that's why we fought today... but I guess I was too scared and frsutrated with myself for being scared like that, and I lashed out on Ten. 

"I want to tell you this, not because I want to make you feel as if you are forced to help me or because I want your pity, I wanted to tell you because, sadly, this is a part of my life, and I can't change it for now, and you should know about this just like you know about the bullying thing. I trust you enough to tell you about this. Obviously, I hope you guys won't turn your back on me and decide to leave, but that's your decision to make" Jungwoo had let out everything he had been holding for years. 

Sure, he had talked to Ten and Yukhei about it, but he always tried to shrugg things off because he didn't want to put even more pressure on them. Telling Jaehyun and Doyoung, who were relatively new when it came to being present in his life, was different. He was nervous, anxious, scared, but he also felt relieved. Of what? He didn't exactly know. Maybe it was because he could finally stop hiding everything his parents did to him, maybe it was because he had been able to tell them without stopping in the middle. He didn't know, but he didn't regret it. If Jaehyun and Doyoung decided to leave, it was their decision. It would hurt a lot, but Jungwoo wasn't the one making the choice and he had to respect their opinion. The last thing he wanted to do was bother them even more.

Jungwoo had been looking down the entire time, looking at his hands that were linked with Doyoung's and Jaehyun's, grounding him and giving him strength. He had also started crying at some point, the memories of everything his parents had done to him coming back at full force. 

There was a moment of silence. Jungwoo didn't dare to look up, fearing what he might see in the expressions of the two boys in front of him. 

"Jungwoo" Jaehyun called him, his voice filled with emotion.

Jungwoo knew he should look at him, but his eyes remained glued to their hands.

"Hey, look at me" Jaehyun said, gently lifting Jungwoo's face with his other hand, finally meeting his eyes.

Jungwoo just stared at Jaehyun's eyes, filled with sadness and anger, but also with love and care. 

"We aren't going to leave you" Jaehyun said, and those words were enough to make Jungwoo let out a gut-wrenching sob. 

"Hey, baby, it's alright" Jaehyun said, bringing Jungwoo close to him. He hugged him tightly, but also carefully, letting him cry all he wanted in his shoulder. Doyoung joined them, still a bit lost in thought after everything Jungwoo had said.

Jaehyun held them close, knowing how much all three of them needed it. Jungwoo had buried his face in his chest, sobbing and clutching his hoodie with shaky hands. Doyoung had his face in Jaehyun's shoulder and he could feel the wetness that was forming there as well. Doyoung had started crying while Jungwoo was talking, but Jaehyun hadn't noticed that he himself was also crying, tears falling on Jungwoo's hair.

Jungwoo didn't know why he was crying anymore. He was sad and angry because he knew he didn't deserve to be treated like that by his parents, he was scared of what would happen in the future, he was letting out years of fear, anguish, anxiety and abuse that he had been trying to hold in, building walls to protect himself for being even more hurt. Now, he could feel those walls crumbling, leaving his raw emotions out, and he couldn't keep them in anymore. On the other hand, he was also relieved and happy in some way. He knew that Jaehyun and Doyoung would be there with him, and that made him feel insanely happy, so he guessed that was also a reason for his tears.

They remained close for a while, with Doyoung gently coaxing Jungwoo to take deep breaths and Jaehyun running his hands on their backs. When Jungwoo was mostly not crying, Jaehyun and Doyoung decided to talk.

"Jungwoo, you don't have to worry about that at all. We won't leave you because of that. We love you. We want to take care of you and make you happy because we adore seeing you happy, and your situation with your parents won't change that" Doyoung said, cleaning Jungwoo's tears for what felt like the hundreth time that day.

"To be honest, we wanted to talk to you about this today, when we told you to hang out in the park" Jaehyun said.

"Did you know about this before?" Jungwoo asked, a bit surprised but mostly tired.

"Well, we didn't completely know, but we suspected something was happening to you at your house" Jaehyun said.

"How...?" Jungwoo asked again. He thought he had done a good job hiding everything.

"We started to think about it when you got sick that day in school and I had to get you to the infirmary. That day, when you fell asleep and I had to wake you up, I asked you if you wanted to go to your house, but you said things that sounded like you didn't want to go there. After that, we started to notice the bruises more and more, and we knew that most of them weren't caused by your classmates" Jaehyun explained, talking about the events that seemed to have happened ages ago.

"The moment everything started to click was when I saw you changing into your clothes after sleeping here. I entered the room without knowing you were still getting changed and I accidentally saw your back. I promise, I didn't do it on purpose, but it happened and I saw all the bruises and cuts you had on your back. I guess that day we realized it was more serious than just something we had imagined" Doyoung continued.

"And why didn't you tell me anything?" Jungwoo asked, confused by their actions. 

"We wanted to let you come to us when you were comfortable. We didn't want to ask you and scare you or something because it's something really personal. We tried to do that, but when I noticed today that you were so hurt, we couldn't wait any longer" Jaehyun explained and Jungwoo remembered what had happened during lunch. 

"Then, you kind of knew since a while ago, right?" Jungwoo asked and Jaehyun and Doyoung nodded. "And didn't you think it would be too troublesome to deal with something like this?" He asked again, and both denied with their heads. 

"We told you before, we're not going anywhere" Jaehyun said, smiling gently when Jungwoo smiled. 

"We're going to take care of this together, and we'll try to help you as much as we can. Seeing you suffer like this hurts us as well, Woo, and if we can stop this, we will" Doyoung said, kissing Jungwoo's forehead.

"You two are really amazing, aren't you?" He asked with a shaky voice. He was going to cry again, but this time of happiness.

"You are amazing, too. But don't cry anymore, baby, you're going to make us cry again and we've done that enough already" Jaehyun chuckled, making the other two giggle as well.

"Let's take a warm shower and go to sleep. I'm very tired" Doyoung said, getting up from the bed.

"You can shower first, we'll wait here for you" Jaehyun said with Jungwoo on his lap, still cuddling him.

"Okay, I'll come back in a minute. Don't fall asleep. You still have to take a shower too. Also, drink some water. You've cried a lot and I don't want you to be dehydrated" He said, putting a bottle of water by their side. Jaehyun and Jungwoo chuckled at his actions. Being his boyfriends didn't change the caring nature of Doyoung and it surely didn't lessened his nagging either.

"Wait, hyung" Jungwoo said, making Doyoung look back. "Come here" he said.

Doyoung obeyed, going back to the bed and lowering his face. Suddenly, Jungwoo pressed a kiss on his cheek, making Doyoung turn as red as a tomato. The youngest even had the audacity to laugh at him, still frozen by the surprise. Jaehyun, always mischievous, took the opportunity as well and planted another kiss to his cheek, this one closer to his lips.

"W-What are you d-doing?!" He asked, even more flustered.

"Look at him, hyung. He got so red!" Jungwoo laughed, hiding his face in Jaehyun's neck. The older laughed, nodding at Jungwoo's remark.

"W-Whatever! I'm going to take a shower!" Doyoung said, stomping towards the bathroom quickly, still hearing the laugh if the other two. 

He was still a bit flustered, but he couldn't stop the smile that bloomed in his face. He was so happy and lucky to have them.

* * *

After Doyoung, Jaehyun was the next to take a shower. He was quick and, in a few minutes, it was Jungwoo's turn. The youngest had almost fell asleep waiting for Jaehyun, and Doyoung had to keep talking to him in order to make him stay awake.

Jungwoo was tired and everything hurt. His legs were no longer hurting that much, but they were still shaky and he didn't have much strength either. From the burning feeling he had before, he could now only feel a dull ache that surely would worsen the next day. It also didn't help that his entire body was practically covered in bruises, cuts and some burns, but he had to shower. He felt dirty from all the tears and sweat, and he loved the idea of a warm shower, but sleeping like that was also very tempting.

"It's your turn, baby" Jaehyun said, coming into the room with a t-shirt and some shorts.

" 'm tired" He said with his face buried in Doyoung's chest.

"I know, sweetheart, but a warm shower will help you feel better" Doyoung said, slowly making Jungwoo sit up.

Jungwoo slowly stretched his sore body, moving slowly to avoid getting any pain from it. He slowly got up from the bed, walking towards Jaehyun , who was holding the clothes he would wear. Even in that short distance, his legs kept shaking.

"Are you in pain right now, baby?" Jaehyun asked, cupping Jungwoo's face gently. Jungwoo hummed, closing his eyes at Jaehyun's touch.

"I'm not usually this hurt, but what happened on the weekend was one of the worst times I've ever experienced with my parents" Jungwoo mumbled, frowning at the thought of having to change all the bandages and clean the wounds again. "I also have to change the bandages Ten put me the other day, and clean the wounds. I think some of them had closed, but they might have opened again with all the running" 

"Do you want us to help you?" Doyoung asked. "You can keep your underwear on and we'll wash you. We can also help you with the bandages and all of that" he suggested.

Jungwoo thought about it. They already knew what was on his body, so it didn't really matter for him if they saw him naked or, well, mostly naked, since he would be keeping his underwear on. 

"Okay, if you don't mind" He answered and the three of them went to the bathroom.

Jaehyun set the clothes aside, pulling out a fluffy towel for Jungwoo. In the meantime, Doyoung carefully helped Jungwoo remove his hoodie. Both Doyoung and Jaehyun gasped when they saw Jungwoo's body. It was all covered bandages, with some bruises peaking out from under them. They could almost feel how painful that was just by seeing it.

"I know, it looks horrible" Jungwoo whispered, suddenly a bit embarrassed from letting him see his body in this state. 

"It looks painful, not gonna lie" Doyoung said.

"Hey, don't cover yourself. You're beautiful, baby, and those can't change that" Jaehyun said, approaching Jungwoo. He captured his lips in a quick kiss, making the younger smile afterwards.

"I'm going to get some bandages and alcohol" Jaehyun said, going out of the bathroom, kissing Doyoung as well on his way out.

"Let's get you in the shower, okay?" Doyoung smiled gently.

He helped Jungwoo get rid of his shoes and pants, leaving him in just his underwear. He carefully picked him up, letting him sit on the bathtub.

"I know that a bath may be better, but I want to see your wounds clearly to clean them properly" Doyoung said and Jungwoo nodded.

With utmost care, Doyoung began to unwrap the gauze covering Jungwoo's body. Even if he was being as careful as he could, Jungwoo still fliched sometimes when the bandages got caught or brushed one of the open cuts. Doyoung apologized to him everytime that happened, kissing his forehead afterwards.

By the time Jaehyun came back, Doyoung had removed all the banadages from Jungwoo's body. Jungwoo saw the sad look on their faces and smiled to them.

"It's not your fault" he said.

"Yeah, but it still sucks to see you so hurt" Jaehyun said.

They washed Jungwoo as carefully as they could, washing his hair and body gently in order to not hurt him, leaving kisses every now and then to distract him from any pain. When he was finally all clean, they quickly cleaned his wounds with alcohol, which was as painful as Jungwoo had expected, and covered them again in clean bandages.

It took a while, but Jungwoo was finally bunddled up in a warm hoodie, with clean bandages and feeling more refreshed. He had also got even more sleepy, as the warm water of the shower had helped him relax.

It was only then that the exhaustion from all day hit him. He was physically and emotionally drained. The day had been a roller-coaster of emotions, and he didn't even remember how many panic attacks he had had that day or how many times he had cried. It had been worth it, in the end, but he was still exhausted.

He was sitting on the edge of the sink, slumped against Doyoung, who was drying his hair with a towel. Jaehyun had gone back to his bedroom, preparing everything to sleep. Jungwoo looked up, wrapping his arms around Doyoung's neck. The other boy immediately stopped his actions, getting the towel down and circling Jungwoo's hips with his own arms.

They met in the middle with a sweet, lazy kiss. They should go to sleep soon, but kissing also felt really good. Even if Jungwoo had kissed them only a couple if times, he was sure that kissing his boyfriends had become one of his favourite things ever. Doyoung smiled into the kiss, feeling happy to let the younger lazily press their lips together.

"We should go to sleep" Jaehyun said, smiling from where he was at the door. 

They separated, smiling. Jaehyun approached them and, suddenly, wrapped an arm around Jungwoo and another around Doyoung, lifting them from the ground.

Doyoung and Jungwoo let out a surprised noise and Jaehyun chuckled, walking towards the bedroom with them in his arms. He let them down on the bed carefully, smiling playfully when Doyoung told him not to do that again. He turned off all the lights, letting the light from the street filter through his courtains guide him to the bed.

They got comfortable, lying down hugging closely with their legs interwined under the blankets. Jungwoo, who was in the middle, tried to stay awake as long as he could to enjoy the feeling of being close to the people he loved so much. He had his head in Jaehyun's chest, his ear pressed to where his heart was, letting him hear its constant beat. Doyoung had his face buried in his hair, nuzzling his nose every now and then.

All his nerves and anxiety had left his body and he was feeling so relaxed between them that he almost fell asleep the moment they got comfortable, the beat of Jaehyun's making him relax even more.

After some minutes of silence, Jaehyun started speaking again.

"I would have never imagined of this happening" he said and Doyoung and Jungwoo giggled.

"It's been an eventful day, hasn't it?" Doyoung asked.

"Yeah. But I love this ending" Jaehyun said, hugging them a bit tighter.

"Thank you so much for everything" Jungwoo whispered.

"You don't have to thank us, baby. Thank you for telling us" Doyoung said, kissing the crown of his head.

"I really really love you" Jungwoo said, shyly hiding his face.

"I love you too. A lot" Doyoung said.

"Aw, look at you being so shy and getting so embarrassed. I love you two as well" Jaehyun said, smiling playfully.

They shared some more kisses and went back to being in silence, this time to sleep.

Jungwoo closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of his two boyfriends lulling him to sleep. He still had to tell the rest of his friends a lot of things, and obviously his problems wouldn't be solved from one day to another, but that day, he knew had started to change for the better. He had two amazing boyfriends and incredible friends.

Maybe it was true when people said that maybe you can choose your family.


	17. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How has life changed for Jungwoo?
> 
> A little glimpse of what will come in the future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I'm able to post this epilogue :D I've been writing this for a while, but I had to finish some exams and I couldn't write the end of this ;u; I hope this can explain how Jungwoo's life is now after he starts dating Jaehyun and Doyoung. By the time this is set, Jungwoo has already turned 16, since they should have started dating at the end of January, when he was still 15. 
> 
> This will be the last chapter that I post in this work. The next parts of this AU will be posted in different works, as the time those will be set in will be different.
> 
> I hope you like this and look forward to more stories from this AU :D

Jungwoo opened his eyes slowly, sighing happily while burrowing his face in Doyoung's chest. He was surrounded by Jaehyun's arms from behind, giving him warmth and protecting him from the still cool temperature. It was quiet, meaning that it was still a bit early and they weren't planning on waking up early that day, since it was Saturday and they had gone to bed late last night. Still, old habits died hard and Jungwoo, who had been used to get up really early since he was very young in order to avoid his parents, found himself awake sooner than his two boyfriends more often than not.

Doyoung was breathing calmly, still asleep. Jaehyun was also asleep and his breaths tickled Jungwoo slightly, making him smile gently. It was spring now, and the weather wasn't as cold as it had been for the past few months, but Jungwoo got cold easily and Jaehyun was like a little furnace that kept him hot at night when the temperatures got a bit lower.

He sighed again, this time closing his eyes and hugging Doyoung tightly. He felt so lucky to have them. It had been almost two months since they had started dating and his life had changed a lot, for the better, of course.

His mind wandered back, remembering everything that had happened in those two months.

He remembered the day after they had started dating. They had stayed together in bed until they got hungry and had lunch, spending the morning in bed, between kisses, laughs and quiet conversations. Jungwoo remembered how sore he was, both from the bruises and the physical activity from the day before. Doyoung and Jaehyun had been the sweetest, carefully carrying him everywhere in Jaehyun's house so he didn't hurt himself, even if Jungwoo assured them that he could walk on his own and that he was used to being in pain most if the time. They had smothered him with kisses and snuggles, helping him forget about the physical pain that cursed through his body whenever he moved too quickly. They spent most of their day relaxing in Jaehyun's couch, watching some movies and just staying with each other, still not believing that they all were together. Well, still to this day, Jungwoo couldn't believe that the two amazing boys that were snuggled against him were his boyfriends, but he was more sure now that this was real life and not just one of his dreams.

At night, they were reminded that they had to get out of their bubble at some point and return to their normal lives as all of their friends arrived at Jaehyun's house, demanding to see Jungwoo and make sure that he was okay.

They had all coddled Jungwoo, drowning him in hugs and love and reminding him that he had a lot of people there for him, ready to support him at any moment. Ten had been the first to approach him, apologizing to him and hugging him with so much love and care that Jungwoo couldn't stop himself from crying. He had missed Ten so much, even if it had been just a day without seeing him, but they had never, ever, fought like that. Sure, they liked to tease each other and joke around, they had had some disagreements and arguments here and there, but they had always solved everything rather quickly, so this was new for both of them. After some more tears and apologies, they had separated and Jungwoo was even more sure that Ten was one of the best things to ever happen to him.

They talked for a while, congratulating them for finally sorting their feelings out and realizing that they were three oblivious idiots in love that just needed to talk for a bit to be a lot happier. 

While talking, Jungwoo gathered the courage to talk to them about his parents. Ten had been right when he had told him that Doyoung and Jaehyun would be supportive and wouldn't even think about leaving him after telling them, so he hoped he was also right when he told him that their friends would be as understanding and caring.

It was as emotionally draining as talking to Jaehyun and Doyoung, but this time he had Ten, Jaehyun and Doyoung to support him, helping him when he couldn't keep talking. There were lots of tears, some anger and sadness and a lot of support from their friends and Jungwoo couldn't believe that he had such amazing friends and boyfriends. They discussed different options to change Jungwoo's situations, but they all reached to the conclussions that if they wanted Jungwoo to stay with them, he would have to wait until he was almost 18 to be able to escape from his parents. They insisted on trying to find help for him, even if it meant that they would be separated for a few years, but Jungwoo insisted that he could handle it for a few more years. If he hadn't wanted to leave before, when he only had Ten with him, now that he had all these amazing friends and two loving boyfriends, he wanted to leave even less.

That day, he went to sleep between his boyfriends again, feeling a lot lighter and calmer than he had been in a while. Even if he knew that the following day he would have to go back to school and see his horrible classmates again, he was happy. Despite how much Jaehyun and Doyoung insisted on him staying at home and resting, he didn't want to miss any more classes in fear of what his parents could do if they found out that he hadn't been to school for some days. He was used to go to school covered in bruises anyways, and he had his friends to support him when he was out of class, so he would be okay.

After those days, some things had changed a lot in his life. He was still bullied by his classmates, even if it was a lot less since Ten and him had started hanging out with Taeyong and the rest of their friends. However, the situation with his parents had changed a lot.

One of the biggest changes was that he had started staying at Jaehyun's house. At first, it was once or twice every week. Since Jaehyun was alone with his little brother Jaemin at his house for most of the week, he had suggested that Jungwoo stayed there with him, so he wouldn't have to go back to his house and Jaehyun had some help in taking care of Jaemin. For the first weeks, they had to be more sneaky and careful so Jaemin didn't say anything to Jaehyun's mother. Jungwoo had to be very silent and fast when going back to his house, especially on the weekends, when Jungwoo's parents were at home for most of the day.

However, this all changed when Jaehyun's mother found out about their relationship.

After just being together for a month, Jungwoo decided that he couldn't keep on staying with Jaehyun without his mother even knowing. He felt so guilty even if Jaehyun told him that it didn't matter, that he wanted him safe and away from the people that hurt him so much. He talked with Jaehyun and Doyoung, and the three of them decided that it was time to tell Jaehyun's mother about them, at least. Doyoung was still a bit insecure in telling his parents and Jungwoo wasn't even thinking on talking to his parents about their relationship. 

So, the day Jaehyun's mother came back from a business trip, Jaehyun had made her sat down with them in their living room, explaining to her everything that had been happening for the last weeks, from his relationship with Doyoung and Jungwoo to the situation of the youngest staying with him and the reasons why that happened. At first, she was a bit confused, trying to grasp everything Jaehyun was telling her. She didn't even knew that her son liked boys, so getting to know that her little Hyunnie had, not only one, but two boyfriends was a bit shocking. Jungwoo and Doyoung sat there, anxiously waiting for her reaction and hoping for the best.

After some minutes, Jaehyun's mother took a deep breath and gave Jaehyun a big, warm hug, telling him that he didn't care of it was a boy or a girl, or, in his case, two boys, all she wanted was for him to be happy and find the people who would love and take care of him. She was excited to finally meet the famous Doyoung and Jungwoo that Jaehyun had talked so much about, and they had spent the rest of the day talking and getting to know each other. Jaehyun got embarrassed a few times, as his mother had plenty of stories to tell from when he was younger and Jaemin, who had joined them at some point, had even more funny stories made Jaehyun blush furiously.

At the end of the day, Jaehyun's mother had told Jungwoo that he could stay there for as long as he wanted. She understood his situation and she was worried about his safety as well, so she had suggested taking a legal approach to it, but Jungwoo had told her that she shouldn't bother with it. He didn't want to cause more troubles and she was already doing a lot for him since she was letting him stay at her house. That day, Jungwoo remembered what care and love from a mother felt like after so many years.

He still had to go back to his house sometimes, since he couldn't just disappear from his house without his parents even noticing, so he had to stay over there for some nights, but his encounters were a lot less frequent. Sometimes, luck wouldn't be on his side and he would get reminded of his actual situation, but now he didn't have to hide around his friends and he had two amazing boyfriends that took care of him, helping him recover and cuddling with him to help him sleep when his insomnia would get at its worst. Whenever he was hurt or tired, he didn't have to act like he was okay when he was at school, he could just put his head on Jaehyun's shoulder while Doyoung took his hand, finding some comfort in them, or he could just hug one of his friends, who were more than happy to cuddle with him and let him recharge his energy before a tough class.

He was happy, something that he couldn't say a year ago. He was happy because he had many important people in his life, who cared for him and were always ready to help him. Even if the events that had led to that point hadn't been the most pleasurable experience of his life, he was so glad that everything had happened that way. 

Now, he looked forward to everyday. He loved waking up to a sleepy Jaehyun, who had half of his face squished against the pillow, he loved that some days, Doyoung would also be there with them as well, making his mornings even better. He loved going to school and spending time with his friends, talking about whatever they wanted without having to worry about hiding or making himself seem smaller. He looked forward to going out in the afternoons, after he had studied or done his homework, and spending the whole afternoon in a park talking with his friends, or in the river, having a date with Jaehyun and Doyoung, even if the eldest said that it was too cheesy for him, or taking care of the sweet and mischievous Jaemin, spending his afternoon playing with him while Jaehyun and Doyoung prepared some dinner and picked a film to watch. 

Of course, some days he would be scared because he had to go back at his house, but those were a lot less than the happy days, and Jungwoo couldn't wait to see how his life would be once he was finally able to leave his parents' house and be completely free. 

Just two more years. Two more years and he would be free. 

He felt Jaehyun's lips pressing a kiss behind his ear, tickling him slighlty and making his smile wider. He giggled when the older kissed him again, this time on his neck, tickling him even more.

"Good morning, baby" Jaehyun said, his voice still a bit raspy from just having woken up.

That was another thing, the pet names. To be fair, Doyoung had been calling him baby even before they had started dating, but now, even Jaehyun, who at first glance didn't look like someone to use them, called him baby and many other things that made him blush. He had grown used to it, but he still blushed sometimes when they called him like that, warmth spreading in his chest. Jaehyun also got the idea of calling Doyoung bunny, and Jungwoo, obviously, loved the idea. Doyoung said that he didn't like it at all, but both saw how he blushed whenever they called him like that. The thing is, Doyoung was really easy to fluster and Jaehyun loved flustering him with whatever he could, whether it was with kisses, hugs, cute names or anything that made Doyoung a blushing mess.

"Good morning, hyung" Jungwoo said, kissing Jaehyun's hand that was linked with his own. 

"Did you sleep well?" He asked after yawning.

"Yeah, I slept pretty well between my two favourite people in the world" Jungwoo whispered, chuckling.

"Woo, it's too early in the morning for cheesy things like that" Jaehyun said, chuckling. Jungwoo knew that Jaehyun also got flustered if they said such things, and he loved seeing the older red like a tomato, so he never missed an opportunity to make Jaehyun's ears bright red with embarrassement.

"What time is it?" Jungwoo asked.

"It's almost 10 AM. Do you want to get up? Or would you rather stay here for a bit?" Jaehyun asked, content with both ideas.

"Mmhh" Jungwoo thought for a moment. "We could get up and prepare some breakfast for Doyoungie-hyung as a surprise. He always gets up first" Jungwoo said.

That was true. Whenever they stayed at Jaehyun's house to sleep, Doyoung would wake up first and start preparing breakfast even for Jaehyun's mother and Jaemin. That day they were alone, as Jaehyun's mother and Jaemin had left really early because they had to go to buy some clothes for the younger and they knew it would take a while.

"That sounds good. Let's get going then, or else he'll wake up and we won't have done anything" Jaehyun said, kissing him again and getting up from the bed gently to let Doyoung sleep. Jungwoo did the same thing, although it was a bit more difficult since Doyoung was practically wrapped around him. He succesfully got out of the bed without waking the older up, and covered him with the blankets since the room was quite cold. 

For the past few weeks, the weather had been nice and warm, a sign that winter was mostly over, but there were still some colder days, acting as a reminder of the cold winter they had that year. 

Jungwoo shivered, his body coming in contact with the chilly air in the room after being under the warm blankets of Jaehyun's bed.

"Are you cold?" Jaehyun asked after seeing Jungwoo. He didn't even wait for an answer, directly giving the younger one of his biggest hoodies to wear on top of his thin t-shirt.

That was another thing that had changed for Jungwoo. He didn't have problems with clothes anymore. Before, he had to wear his old and quite worn-out clothes, even if all of them had got thin over years of using them. He was always cold during winter, since he didn't really have a thick warm jacket or sweater to wear on cold days. He was also pretty prone to get sick easily. That had been solved thanks to Jaehyun and Doyoung, who didn't hesitate when it came to making the younger wear their clothes. They always made sure that Jungwoo was warm and comfortable, letting him use their jackets and scarfs, or even their sweaters and hoodies. Jungwoo was a bit hesitant at first, but the other two were quick to tell him that all they wanted was for Jungwoo to be happy and okay. They left out the part of them loving when Jungwoo wore their clothes, but Jungwoo noticed their happiness whenever he wore something that belonged to them.

Jungwoo put on Jaehyun's hoodie, thanking him with a quick peck. He got warmer almost instantly and Jaehyun pinched his slightly red cheeks, a smile adorning his face as well.

They left the room quietly, closing the door behind them and going to the kitchen. They started working on a simple breakfast, trying to be as quiet as possible since Doyoung was a light sleeper. 

Luckily, they were able to finish the pancakes before a half-asleep Doyoung appeared through the door of the kitchen, rubbing his eyes and asking them what they were doing.

"Look, hyung, we prepared some breakfast" Jungwoo said, guiding Doyoung to sit down on one of the chairs while Jaehyun slid a plate with some pancakes and a glass of juice in front of him. Doyoung's eyes opened at the sight of the tasty food, looking at Jaehyun who just smiled back at him.

"And why is this for?" He asked, slightly amused at the thought of his boyfriends preparing a decent breakfast while trying to be quiet when, actually, they both were quite disastrous when it came to cooking and they couldn't be quiet for their lives.

"We just wanted to surprise you, bunny. You always do this, and this time, we wanted to surprise you instead. Come on, try the pancakes! You will be surprised of how good they are" Jaehyun said, serving another two plates and putting them on the table, sitting down to eat with Doyoung and Jungwoo.

"Yes, they are super good! We haven't tried them yet, but I'm sure they will taste good" Jungwoo said, nodding and urging Doyoung to eat.

Doyoung smiled, shaking his head at his boyfriends antics. He took a bite of the pancakes. They tasted really good, which was a bit surprising to Doyoung. He knew that Jungwoo still had to learn a lot when it came to cooking and Jaehyun could be impatient at times, but the pancakes were good.

"How is it? Are they good?" Jaehyun asked, waiting for Doyoung's answer impatiently.

"They are really good" Doyoung said, smiling when Jaehyun and Jungwoo clapped. "To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't burn down the entire house or something" He joked, quickly making his boyfriends complaing on how little faith he had in them.

They spent the rest of their breakfast like that, talking and bickering while eating.

It felt nice. It felt domestic and familiar, even though it was something fairly new in their lives. 

There had been some minor changes as well, like the kisses they shared between classes, away from the rest of the students and teachers. There were also hugs, cuddles, walks in the park, cute dates that varied from going to cute cafés to staying at home watching funny movies. 

Jaehyun had never thought that he would be so utterly whipped for a person, even less for two, but he found himself smiling at the smallest things that Jungwoo and Doyoung did. When they were friends, he loved their company, since he felt as if they understood him really well even if they had just known him for a few weeks, but when they became boyfriends, oh dear lord, Jaehyun wasn't ready for the inmense happiness that came with being with the other two. Whether it was just cuddling in bed after a nap or cooking together, he always found himself enjoying the company of the other two boys.

He had grown being used to staying at home alone with his little brother, always a bit stressed because he had to take care of himself and Jaemin, but now, he didn't even have to ask Doyoung and Jungwoo to stay with them. Sometimes, Jeno came along with Doyoung, and Jaemin would be so happy to have one of his best friends with him. Jaemin absolutely adored Doyoung and Jungwoo, which was relieving for Jaehyun. He knew that his little brother wasn't one to judge people before knowing them, but he had been ridiculously nervous when Jaemin had asked him why he gave Doyoung and Jungwoo kisses on the lips instead of the cheeks of forehead. Luckily, it all went well and he didn't have to worry about hiding from his little brother anymore.

All in all, everything was going pretty well at the moment.

Doyoung had also noticed some changes in his life, even if they were small. He found himself smiling more, accepting hugs and kisses without getting as flustered. He had also started noticing how his boyfriends never failed to tell him how beautiful and handsome he looked, how well his jeans complimented his figure, how cute his hair looked curled when Jungwoo tried to syle it once, erasing all his doubts about his appearance. He hadn't told them how much he had struggled with seeing his body in a positive way, but it seemed like they knew what to say to make him feel instantly better. His parents also noticed the change and they were happy to see their son finally being confident enough to wear slightly tighter clothes without feeling insecure. Doyoung had been thinking about telling them about his relationship, trying to stay positive after seeing how Jaehyun's mother had reacted, but he still wasn't sure, so he decided to wait for some more time.

After they finished their breakfast, they started getting ready to go out with their friends. They had decided to spend the day in the Han river and it was almost time to go there. They had agreed to prepare some food and eat lunch there, so the three started preparing some sandwiches and take some drinks with them as well. When everything was ready, they went to get dressed for the day.

Jungwoo smiled as he saw Jaehyun struggling to put on some shorts while walking towards the bathroom, Doyoung behind him telling him not to run like that. His phone vibrated in his hands, signalling that someone had texted him.

**From: Tennie**   
**To: Jungwoo**   
**Hey Woo**   
**I think I'll be a bit late today**

**From: Jungwoo **   
**To: Tennie**   
**Don't worry **   
**You won't be the only one**

Jungwoo smiled and looked up when Doyoung called him.

"Woo, get dressed or we'll be late" Doyoung said, looking exhasperated with both of them. Jungwoo chuckled and walked towards him.

"Don't worry so much, baby. I'll be ready in a second" Jungwoo winked at him and pecked the older's pouting lips, walking towards the bedroom giggling.

Doyoung just shook his head, smiling and blushing slightly. He would had never imagined that Jungwoo would be so playful and flirty, at least not when he remembered how shy and quiet he was at the beginning, but he loved whenever he did things like that.

He smiled, sighing and pausing for a moment. He had amazing parents, the best little brother, two incredible boyfriends and a wonderful group of friends that were there for him whenever he needed them. Yes, Doyoung was really, really lucky, and he couldn't wish for anything else.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are appreciated :D


End file.
